Sonic & Sash: Tides of Chaos 3: Phantom Forces
by SonicChaosEmerald
Summary: When Eggman gets his hands on a dangerous relic capable of warping reality, the gang is in for major trouble. With no Chaos Emeralds and only their allies for help, the group gets ready for the war for their world's freedom...
1. Prologue: Ruby Delusions

_**...  
Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1  
**_

 _Prologue: Ruby Delusions_

* * *

 _Five days after the Corazon incident..._

Within the depths of a rocky blue mountain, a massive underground lab stretched out for several miles, filled to the brim of metallic venting and piping. Robots of varying variety seemed to scuttle among the halls, several of them heading down several halls towards hangars. In the center of base, upon a raised control room looking over a massive assembly line for the robots, was an egg-shaped doctor with an impressive mustache, decked in a military jacket and black trousers with goggles. With a twitch of his mustache, he soon hit a button on the control panel beside him, activating an intercom.

"Attention Badnik forces." The man spoke. "Most of the army is nearing completion. Get the new Egg Fleet ships ready for launch. Cubot, activate Project HBH and get them up and running. Orbot, report to me immediately." He then hung up the intercom, returning to his view to the assembly line before a red orb came up through a transport pipe and rolled into the office, unfolding to reveal it as a robot.

"Yes, Dr. Robotnik?" The robot spoke with its British accented voicebox.

"Is everything ready?" The egg shaped doctor spoke.

"Well... ehm..." The robot stuttered a bit, causing the doctor to grow irritated. "The ships are... but..."

"But _what?_ " The doctor growled.

"...we've run out of resources for the sentinels, sir." Orbot spoke. "The sheer size and quantity needed for this comeback has bled all our resource and funding veins dry. Even with the generous donation exchange with Miss Corazon a while back, it was only enough to create two of the ordered five-hundred sentinels for-"

The doctor grew irritated, knocking over papers and the like onto the floor. "I've been concocting a full-scale revenge plan this entire time, and only now when we're about to launch it is when you tell me the sentinels are not ready?!" He angrily yelled, the anger strewn across his face.

"Y-you never asked for updates during the entire process!" Orbot spoke worriedly. "A-all you wanted was to make sure they were completed!"

The doctor growled, angrily storming back and forth in a pacing matter. "Well here we are now, a plan ruined because of a shortage of funding and two worlds I now can't conquer! Now what do I do?!"

"Well," Orbot spoke. "We still have enough troops to overthrow one of the planets-"

 _"IT NEEDS TO BE BOTH!"_ The doctor yelled. "It's not like the solution is just going to crash-land outside our base now is it?!" At that moment the entire base shook violently, as if something struck the side of the base itself, throwing the doctor off his feet and onto the desk, the force from the weight of him breaking the desk entirely. He grumbled angrily before a message came over the PA System.

"Aye, doctor!" A pirate voice came from over the intercom. "Something massive just crashed outside our base!"

The doctor got up from the destroyed desk, growling angrily to himself. "What is it this time Cubot?!"

"We not be entirely sure!" The pirate voice responded. "But whatever it be, it requires ye attention!"

"Grrr... fine!" The doctor said. _"And fix your damn voice chip!"_

"Right away cap'n!" The voice responded before the transmission cut out entirely. The doctor angrily grumbled and grabbed his coat before storming out towards the elevator. "This had better be good..." He grumbled as he entered the elevator, soon beginning its descent towards the ground level...

* * *

The elevator doors soon opened up into the hangar, the doctor departing from the elevator as what Egg Pawns that were in the hangar saluting the doctor as he crossed the hangar towards the hangar doors, the imprint of Metal Sonic still present from the previous break in and chase. His mustache twitching in frustration, the hangar doors soon slowly opening to show a crater in front of the hidden base, several badniks surrounding it along with a yellow cube robot.

"Aye, there ye be cap'n!" The cube robot said, drawing the attention of the other badniks, the Eggrobos and Egg Pawns giving a salute as the doctor approached the crater. "Here be what the disturbance was!"

"And where is it now?" The doctor spoke, looking into the empty crater. "There's nothing here."

"The bots dug up the treasure cap'n!" Cubot said as an Egg Pawn came forward with the discovery. "Looks like some kind o' mystical gemstone thingamagoocus!"

The Egg Pawn then handed the doctor what appeared to be the gemstone; it was magenta in color, seemingly cut in a icosahedron-like formation, what appeared to be black rings circling around the outside edging. Within the center of the gem was an unusual metal piece in an '8' formation...

"Now what in the world is this..." The doctor muttered to himself, soon setting a hand onto the jewel and taking it into his own hands... and then it started to glow, surrounding the area before the outside surroundings warped and changed from the blue rolling mountainous hills... to a twisted and warped theme park in the mad doctor's image. The doctor, in complete shock and surprise from the sudden change from the surroundings, ended up dropping the jewel itself onto the ground, causing the view to fade entirely...

"Wh-what was _that?!_ " The doctor exclaimed as Cubot soon scooped up the gem.

"Looks like this here gem compl'tely warped the surrounding area cap'n!" Cubot spoke. "Look around more, there still be remnants of that other reality!"

Cubot wasn't wrong; there will still several pillars with the doctor's name across them scattered throughout the hills. If it weren't for those pillars, no one would have known that the gemstone activated in the first place...

"Interesting..." The doctor mused, looking between the gem and the pillars. "Somehow, this gem warped reality, even for a fraction of time... this could be useful." He spoke to himself. "Cubot. Get that stone to the lab and start analyzing it. Now."

"Right away cap'n!" Cubot said, carting off the gemstone into the base as the rest of the badniks stood there looking at the doctor.

"Well, what are you all staring at?" He spoke. "Back to your defense positions!" He ordered as the badniks scrambled back to their defense positions as the doctor returned inside the base...

* * *

Unbeknownst to the doctor, off on another ridge, a pair of binoculars was watching the entrance to the base. Those binoculars belonged to the piercing yellow eyes of a black and white furred female jackal, her white hair fashioned back into a spiking ponytail between her ears. She wore nothing more than a tight military green vest that came no lower than her midriff and tight fitting black leggings with holes in them with a belt holding a short sword and military grade boots. Her tails swished slowly behind her as she observed the base in front of her...

"Hmph... now this is sure to please the Finn..." The jackal spoke to herself, smirking as she took her eyes out of the binoculars. "All those bots and Buttnik tech out there are sure to fetch a hefty price, but that gem..."

Just then her radio started buzzing from her thigh, catching her off guard. After the initial surprise, she grabbed the radio off her belt and answered it. "Fiora speaking, who dis?"

"Now, is that any way to talk to your leader?" The voice over the raido said, causing the female jackal to freeze, her tail standing on end.

"F-Finn! I wasn't expecting you!" Fiora responded.

"Relax, I just want an update for the squad. Are we ready to attack?" The voice said.

"Y-yes, but the place is heavily guarded by that madman's forces." Fiora responded. "We gonna bum-rush him like the last guys?"

"...well, overwhelming with sheer numbers has worked before." The voice said. "Now hold your position, the rest of the squad will be there shortly, and then we can begin our assault."

"One more thing." Fiora spoke. "He's got some kind of gem with him. Looked like a Chaos Emerald or something, but I couldn't tell if it really was."

"Eh, it'll probably fetch a hefty price nonetheless." The voice spoke. "Just hold your position until we arrive."

"Sure thing." Fiora replied before closing the link, returning to her lookout point. "What are you hiding Robotnik..."

* * *

"Cap'n! Report to the lab!" Cubot sounded over the intercom. "We got readin's on the gem, and they be all over the fritzamajig!"

"Very well, I'll report down." The doctor spoke as he headed for the elevator. As he stepped in, the thoughts of the power of this gem came back to him in full force. Warping entirety of reality? Completely reshaping everything to his whim? Finally being able to create the empire he always wanted? This could finally be the chance he had!

"With this gem..." The doctor spoke to himself. "I could finally have a chance to smash those little rats led by that blue hedgehog wide open! I could finally have a chance to win!"

The elevator stopped at the lab as several large cyan-glowing canisters lined the hall, leading to the control computer. The doctor walked down the rows before he came to the computer, Cubot rapidly typing away at the keyboard while Orbot was to the side, soon saluting as he saw the doctor.

"Doctor Robotnik on deck!" Orbot said, causing Cubot to back away from the PC. "The gem's been analyzed, sir."

"Let me see." Dr. Robotnik spoke, looking onto the monitor at the readings. "Now... what's this? These readings are everywhere..."

"Th-the gem appears to be... extremely powerful, sir." Orbot spoke. "In fact, its power readings exceed those of the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Does it now?" Robotnik replied, raising an eyebrow. "Now, _that_ is interesting... Have you run Chaos Energy tests on it?"

"Well, ehm... we couldn't sir, seeing as how Corazon took our two Emeralds for her cannon..." Orbot replied.

"...point taken." Robotnik spoke, turning back to the monitor. "Now... we just need something to refer to this as other than just a gem..."

"Aye, can I be the mate to name it?!" Cubot said. "How about the Spooky Sapphire?!"

"But it's clearly a ruby..." Orbot spoke.

"Then it be the Anarchy Beryl!"

"Too derivative."

"Precious Stone!"

"Now you're not even trying."

"Shut up you two." Robotnik spoke. "I have the perfect name for this..."

"Eh?" Orbot spoke.

"What be it cap'n?" Cubot spoke.

"This gem, I will call..." Robotnik spoke, grinning. "The _**Phantom Ruby**_..."

"Aye, that was me next suggestion!" Cubot spoke, before being shoved back into his form by Orbot.

"Hush." He spoke, before looking to the doctor. "So... what are you going to do with the Ruby doctor?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Robotnik spoke. "I finally have a means to an end of that annoying mercenary group of Sonic's and for my empire to finally form! With this gem, I can finally destroy them for good!" The doctor then started laughing loudly to himself before a rumble occurred, shaking the base.

"What the-" Robotnik yelled before the intercom and siren came on.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" The voice over the intercom spoke. "BASE IS UNDER ATTACK! ALL BADNIK FORCES REPORT TO FRONT LINES!"

"Gah! Damn it all!" Robotnik yelled, grabbing the Ruby out of the canister. "Cubot! What's the status of the HBH project activation?!"

"They be active cap'n!" Cubot said. "Must be out fightin' this opposition right now!"

"Good!" Robotnik answered, getting into his Egg Walker. "Now, time to remove this little resistance..."

* * *

"JACKAL SQUAD! MOVE IN FOR THE KILL!" The leader of the squad yelled, a male black and white jackal wearing padded gloves and boots with a pair of black cargo shorts and flowing white lockes and a heterochromia with a yellow left eye and a blinded blue right eye with a scar across it, as he pointed his blood red sabre sword at the base. "Raid that base and leave no survivors! That technology is going to fetch us a hefty price!"

"ALL BADNIK PERSONNEL, DEFENSE POSITIONS!" The intercom from the base sounded as the Egg Pawns and Eggrobos soon fired off volleys of shots at the oncoming Jackal Squad. Buzzbombers were soon coming out of hatches on the side of the rock face and aimed their stingers at the oncoming jackals, their stingers opening fire on them. Motobugs soon rolled out of hatches in the ground, soon charging at the jackals, only for several of them to immediately be shredded by the blades wielded by them.

"You think these little toys are gonna stop us?!" Fiora yelled, soon slashing another Motobug in half. "Our merc group is undefeated!"

"We'll see about that!" Robotnik growled, the massive lumbering Egg Walker coming out of the front of the base, soon launching several bombs out of its left cannon. "If you know what's good for you, you'll call off your attack before I make pelts of your dead hides!"

"Never!" Fiora roared, grabbing onto a passing Buzzbomber, growling angrily before she goaded the metallic bee into firing on its own forces. Several other jackals were making mincemeat of the other Badniks until five other hatches opened up... and out came five specially modified Eggrobos, colored in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple, with the purple one riding a special Motobug.

"Let's light 'em up boys!" The blue Eggrobo said, taking off to the skies and loading his rocket launcher, firing off a barrage of missiles upon the Jackal Squad, several exploding and sending several of the jackals flying. The green Eggrobo spoke nothing, but merely brandished several Asterons and flung them fast and hard at the intruders, some getting lodged into some of the jackals themselves before violently detonating, sending a shower of spikes everywhere.

"YEAAAAAHH!" The purple Eggrobo squealed, ramping off a mound in the rolling hills before landing on another jackal's skull, caving it in before swinging her mace like mad, knocking away more of the squad. "Put 'em up you little furry runts!"

The yellow Eggrobo merely giggled before opening her hat, letting out a Caterkiller that soon morphed into gigantic proportions and lunged at the Jackal Squad, sending several of them into the air before they were stuck by the blue Eggrobo's missiles, blasting them into chunklets.

The large red Eggrobo looked merely unamused, merely firing blasts from his sceptre, blasting the jackals away. "Honestly, if this was what I was called for, this is a waste of my time." He merely spoke, backhanding another jackal. "I thought this was supposed to be a _challenge_."

"Oh, so it's a challenge you want ay?!" The lead jackal growled, charging the large red Eggrobo. "Bring it!" He roared, his blade colliding with the sceptre that the red Eggrobo blocked.

"No." The red Eggrobo said, knocking the jackal back before firing a laser strike from his sceptre at the jackal. The jackal growled, slashing through the beam before charging forward, soon another jackal attacking the red Eggrobo.

"You go fer the doctor boss!" The other jackal said. "I'll handle this bucket 'o bolts!"

The head jackal nodded, taking off on all fours, sword clenched between his teeth as he ran past the other badniks, heading straight for the doctor, his eyes glazed with adrenaline and rage. Soon after vaulting off the wreckage of a Badnik pile, he drew his sword from his teeth, ready to slice down right on top of the doctors head. "DIE!" He roared, ready to plunge his blade straight into the 300IQ 295lb mad doctor...

"GAAAHH!" Robotnik yelled in shock, and in reaction, held up the Phantom Ruby above his head.

"FINN, NO!" Fiora cried...

But it was too late. Finn's blade struck the Ruby, and suddenly it seemed as if all time had stopped momentarily. The air went dead silent as nearly everyone froze...

And then all hell broke loose.

The Ruby let loose a shockwave, knocking Finn away from Robotnik entirely as soon the Jackal Squad started panicking, scrambling in circles from the resulting chaos as the Ruby started spinning fast, sucking in energy from around it, letting loose cracks of magenta lightning from it.

Fiora, in her haste, rushes and grabs Finn before slinging him over her shoulder. "JACKAL SQUAD! FALL BACK! FALL BACK!" She screamed as she and what survivors left of the squad fled with their lives as the Ruby raged out of control, the lightning strikes becoming worse and more unstable as rock chunks were heaved into the air.

"What the hell is going on?!" Robotnik yelled as the Phantom Ruby soon became veiled in a opaque orb of swirling gaseous air. A burning insignia of an 8 symbol burned onto the orb before it creaked and rotated, twisting itself into an infinity symbol. After it did so, a series of cracks started to break up across the orb itself, the energy expanding harsher and harsher before the orb itself shattered, sending shards of the orb all around the area as a figure emerged from the smoldering remains of the orb; a tall, white-furred hound, decked out in dark form fitting armor, armored boots and armored gauntlets. A long flowing black cape held onto the armored shoulders by two magenta crystaline pads to the armor. Four crystalline magenta bracelets were around the wrists and ankles of the figure, glowing softly, and right in the figures chest was the Ruby itself...

The figure chuckled to himself. " _ **Finally... I have returned...**_ "

Robotnik was flabbergasted, self-pressed back into the cockpit of his Egg Walker. "Wh-what is this?! Who are you?! E-Explain yourself!"

The figure glanced back, showing the scarred face of the hound. " _ **Are you the one who has found my Ruby?**_ " He asked.

"Wh-what?! _Your_ Ruby?!" Robotnik countered. "I found that rock outside my base first!"

The hound figure merely smirked. " _ **Hmph, claiming you found it first. Typical nature of a scientist of your caliber.**_ "

"What is that suppos-"

" _ **Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, aged 62, height 6'7", weight 295 with a IQ of 300, and a record of 0-20 against Mobius-renowned Sonic Ideka.**_ " The hound figure spoke, causing Robotnik to stagger back in shock.

"H-how do you know all that?!" The doctor accused.

" _ **There are many things I know and see about...**_ " The figure merely responded. " ** _And I know you can help me in enacting a plan of revenge against some certain pests..._** "

"And why should I put in my trust in what I can only assume is another Chaos Demon like the Zeti?" Robotnik growled.

" _ **I can help you eliminate Sonic.**_ " The hound spoke.

"Oh you can?" Robotnik spoke, starting to think to himself. " _Maybe I can use him in order to take over both Mobius and Avalice... if I can just recreate that Ruby-_ "

" _ **So you can warp the planets to your will?**_ " The hound finished for him. " ** _Of course. Expected from someone like you._** "

Robotnik froze. "Well then... I suppose we have a deal ready then. However, I have one request."

" ** _Recreating the Phantom Ruby's power into prototypes?_** " The hound spoke.

"Indeed." Robotnik answered.

" ** _And one more thing; I need a mask._** " The hound spoke.

"What for?"

" _ **...personal reasons.**_ " The hound said, not disclosing the truth as to why he needed it.

"Very well. Come with me." Robotnik responded, his Egg Walker turning and heading into the base. The hound merely nodded and followed, the base doors shutting behind him...

* * *

It wasn't long before what little remained of the jackal squad returned to the Mystic Jungle of the Mystic Ruins, setting down after what could only be described as a failed raid, wading heavily on the group's morale.

"What're we gonna do now?" One of the jackals asked. "Almost three quarters of our squad are dead from that failed raid."

"Maybe it's about time our squad retires?" Another jackal spoke. "Maybe we're losing our touch."

"No." Fiora merely spoke, setting Finn down on a flat rock nearby. "We don't retire. Our pride means too much."

"Second boss, not to dampen ya spirits, but..." A third jackal spoke. "We've lost seventy-five percent of our squad, our leader has taken a nasty blow... we don't even know if he's gonna survive."

"He will." Fiora spoke, not taking her eyes off of the unconscious Finn. "Finn is strong. I know he'll make it through this..."

"But what if he doesn-"

"He will." The female jackal restated. "Look, the rest of you get settled down for the night. We're not going anywhere else for the night."

"Sec-"

"Do as I say." Fiora interrupted. "That's an order."

"...as you wish, second boss." The jackal said, turning to the remains of the squad. "You heard the lady, let's get set up!"

The other jackals nodded as they started getting camp set up for the night...

* * *

 ** _Dark days have begun to fall Mobius and Avalice. With the bad egg now gaining a new ally and the Jackal Squad in shambles, the new threat of the Phantom Ruby begins its rise. But where's Sonic and Sash in all this? Who is Eggman's new ally, and how could he claim he could defeat Sonic when Eggman has failed so many times? A dark time is on the horizion for the group next time in Chapter 1: "The Fall of Legends"..._**


	2. Chapter 1: The Fall of Legends

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1  
_**

 _Chapter 1: The Fall of Legends..._

* * *

The Green Hill Zone. An entire canyon, the bright daylight reflecting its light off of the water, sparkling blue and beautiful across the entire canyon's surroundings. Sections of the taller grass slowly swayed in the light breeze as the flowers started to bloom in the daylight, the light now shining onto the various wooden structures that dotted the Zone. It was a perfect location for a getaway retreat on South Island...

...or it would have been if it wasn't for the fact a load of it was currently under sand and ruins. The once lush valley was now half dead and cracked, the remains of other kinds of Badniks and the like around the surrounding area, as well as some golden cryptic ruins protruding out of the sand or the cliff faces. Among the massive rocky brown cliffs stood gigantic pyramids, and now there were cacti growing among the regular flora of the Zone.

Of course, the zone wouldn't be deserted, as a blue and a purple blur ripped across the sand before soon ripping up to the top of a checkerboard rock peak. The figures would stop at the peak, looking out over the zone altogether. One of the two was dressed in a red and white jacket with black fingerless gloves, red high-ankle shoes with black tips and a pair of yellow-tinted sunglasses, flipped down, well complementing his blue fur and quills and emerald-green eyes, the right of which had a scar across it. A red bag was slung over his shoulder, and his quills were swaying lightly in the breeze of the canyon. The other was clearly a lavender-skinned eastern water dragon, wearing a tight-fitting blue vest that cut off at the midriff, blue shorts with a red sash around her waist and a yellow string with a five-point flower knot. Her horns were curved back a bit partially covered darker lavender hair a chunk of it being her bangs hanging over her left eye, both eyes being a crimson color. Her blue boots extended up to her knees and had gold soles with what looked like small golden wings on the side. Wrapped around her neck and covering a bit of her lower face was a large crimson scarf, slightly worn from old age, the tail end as long as her twin tendrils reaching down to her ankles. Attached to the sides of her head and compressing where her ears would be a pair of headphone-styled crystal energy chargers; the titanium frame styled in a swooping spiral, with the blue containment picket for the crystals on top of that.

The dragon whistled. "Hoooooly shit, what could've came through here to turn this place into a dry zone?" She spoke, looking over the sand-coated valley. "This sand is more than enough to keep a glass blowing company intact!"

"You got that right..." The hedgehog replied. "A desert like this doesn't just pop up overnight, _especially_ in a tropical place like this..."

"This is so weird..." The dragon spoke. "This is like the other areas on Avalice and Mobius that got super messed up by out of place climates; Shuigang becomes frozen over and a factory pops up there, Pangu Lagoon becomes unbearably humid and flooded, Westside Island becomes a volcanic hazard... and that's just a few of the incidents going on."

"Y'know..." The hedgehog replied. "This is kinda reminding me of the Lost Hex..."

"How so Sonic?" The dragon asked.

"Well..." Sonic said. "The various ruin and pyramid structures are familiar to those in Desert Ruins Zone on the Lost Hex, a 'garbage dump' planet more or less. All this sand, the ruin hills in certain places-" A roar sounded before a massive sandworm came leaping out of the sand and crashing down onto a lower cliff face, collapsing the entire structure and burrowing into the ground. "...not to mention those sandworms are native to Desert Ruins Zone..."

The dragon would think. "So... it's like Green Hill got merged with Desert Ruins?"

"Seems like it." Sonic answered. "So... what more should we explore of the area?"

"Have we checked what's accessible of the underground caverns?" The dragon spoke.

"Not yet." Sonic said, crossing his arms. "But I don't wanna hang around there for long if those sandworms are still loose."

"Point taken." The dragon spoke. Soon enough the cell phone on the dragon's belt started vibrating, catching her attention. Without hesitation, she slipped it out and picked up the call.

"Hello, this is Sash Lilac of AvaMerc speaking." The dragon spoke, before smiling a bit. "Oh, Milla! I was wondering when I'd hear from yo- oh, is everyone alright?" She spoke, becoming serious while talking on the phone. "...I see. Don't worry, Sonic and I will be there as soon as we can." She spoke. "...alright, just hold out for a bit. Love ya sis. Seeya." She finished, hanging up. "We got trouble." She spoke to Sonic.

"Let me guess; robot attack?" Sonic spoke.

Sash nodded.

"Large amount has Milla cornered?"

Sash nodded again.

"Civilian Mobians at stake?"

Sash nodded a third time.

"Eggman leading the charge?"

"For ancestor's sake Sonic!" Sash growled. "This is serious!"

"I know." Sonic said, thumbing his nose. "I just wanted all the details. So shall we?"

Sash smirked in response. "Let's do it..."

"...to it!" Sonic finished, taking off down the cliff face with Sash right behind him. Thanks to that sandworm collapsing the hill, the duo shot straight into the underground caverns underneath Green Hill. The foliage all down here was dead, and now there was more evidence that there were ruins like Desert Ruins Zone around the area, along with torches sticking out of the sand entirely and light filtering down from the above areas as sandfalls continued to flow throughout the caverns.

Sonic whistled as the two ran. "Worse down here than I thought. Everything down here's choked out from the lack of water."

"Damn shame too, this place was once so beautiful..." Sash spoke, before a plasma shot whizzed by her head. Her eyes darted back to confirm her suspicions; Buzzbombers, some still using their normal Eggman designs, however some of them looked a lot more... barren, containing only a single unblinking red eye and complete lack of antennae, and being a lot more plain in design as a whole.

"Looks like Eggs Benedict couldn't wait..." Sash growled, before calling to Sonic. "Buzzbombers! Watch your six!"

"Got it! Split up!" Sonic said, heading through a loop down a different path. "I'll meet you out by the cavern exit!"

Sash gave a small salute as half of the Buzzbombers went after him. She then glanced back, looking at the set of robotic bees chasing her as another plasma shot whizzed by her head, merely singing the tip of the bangs.

"Alright, you wanna burn my bangs?" Sash taunted. "Let's see ya burn rubber!" She growled, curling into a ball and soon shooting forward in a sparkling dash as the bees tailed her. Sash soon ducked under a stone overhang, which two of the Buzzbombers merely crashed into while the other three flew over it.

"Hmmm, didn't shake all of 'em..." She mumbled to herself as she soon blasted through a sandfall, the Buzzbombers continuing their chase. Sash got a lightbulb idea and soon hit a spring, blasting up through a hole in the ground as the Buzzbombers tried to chase after her; two more of them bashed into the sides of the caverns, leaving her with just one pursuer.

"There's always that one asshole..." The dragon growled to herself as she blasted through the sand towards the exit of the cavern, the Buzzbomber still in pursuit and now firing like mad. Sash kept dodging out of the way of the shots before a blue blur soon smashed through the other Buzzbomber, causing the dragon to skid to a halt. Standing the wreckage of the Buzzbomber was none other than Sonic, holding the Buzzbomber's head.

"See you were having a bit of trouble, were ya?" Sonic said, tossing the Buzzbomber's head behind him.

"I had it under control." Sash spoke, crossing her arms.

"Suuuuure." Sonic said, slyly grinning. "Now c'mon! Let's get to Station Square!"

"Right!" Sash replied, running after Sonic back out into the open. The sun still shined bright on them as they raced across the desert floor before they heard a loud metallic screeching before a massive figure leaped out from behind a massive rock face and roared, revealing itself to be a gigantic eight legged crab robot, soon scuttling fast after the two over the desert floor.

"WOAH!" Sonic yelled, dodging out of the way of a thrown rock debris from the scuttling crab chasing them. "Now _that's_ a huge one!"

"We can't let it get to the city! It'll wreck the place!" Sash spoke. "We need to find a way to get it off our tail!"

"Right!" Sonic said, soon taking a ledge upwards and running ahead. "I'll look for a way to take it down! You just gotta keep it distracted!"

"Got it!" Sash answered as Sonic zoomed ahead.

"Alright, alright..." Sonic muttered to himself. "Now what's the fastest way to wreck something of that size..." Soon enough he looked ahead and saw several diamond-shaped sinkholes in the sand, and a lightbulb went off in his head. "Got it!" Sonic said as he rushed back towards Sash's position.

"Sash!" Sonic yelled, soon skidding around and running alongside her. "We got some sinkholes up ahead! With the size of this thing, it's gotta be super heavy enough to cause the thing to collapse entirely!"

"Good thinking!" Sash spoke. "Let's blaze 'em!" She said before taking off ahead, Sonic soon trailing behind him as the gigantic crab robot continued its chase. The duo then skidded over the sinkholes, their combined weight not enough to set it off quite... but a crab mech weighing in at neatly 3 tons set it off, causing the robot to flail wildly as it started to sink in.

Sonic smirked, skidding to a halt. "Well, that oughta take care of that problem."

Sash smirked with him. "Nothin' like a little Eggman destruction to-" She was cut off as a massive sandworm burst from the ground, clenching the crab mech in its mouth and crashing down back into the sand, collapsing the ground around the sinkholes and making a massive hole back into the caverns. "...whet my appetite... heh, maybe not the best choice of words considering what just happened..."

"Yeah..." Sonic said, his spines tingling. "And I'm feeling he's wanting dessert! Let's beat it!" He said before the two took off for the exit to the Zone...

* * *

"Get down!" A voice yelled as a missile blast hit the side of a building, causing it to collapse into the already ruined city. That voice belonged to a female basset hound, her messy orange hair had been somewhat tied back into a small fraying ponytail at the back of her head long ears with twin green crystalline marks on them, and a black mark under each of her jade green eyes. Wrapped around her bust were compressive chest wraps, keeping her breasts close to her body. She also wore a pair of black compression shorts with orange trim. Cuffed around her wrists and ankles were a pair of inhibitor rings. "Everyone, stay back!" She cried as she raised a green defensive shield to block several Mobians as the Egg Pawns in front of her opened fire.

"Just give it up, Basset." Robotnik said from his Egg-o-Matic, sitting back. "Your group has no change now."

"We'll see about that!" The basset growled before releasing a Shield Burst, shredding the Egg Pawns entirely.

"You act as if I'm worried about that." Robotnik grinned as more soon came to take their places, their guns ready to open fire. The basset gasped and raised another shield as the Egg Pawns opened fire, others charging with their lances and striking the shield. The several Mobian and human citizens behind her seemed to cower as the Egg Pawns continued their attack...

...and then a blur of blue and purple came through and smashed apart the rest of the Egg Pawns, soon stopping in front of the green shield, revealing it to be Sonic and Sash.

Sonic smirked. "You called?"

Milla sighed in relief, dropping the shield. "You showed up at the right time." She spoke. "Any longer, I thought we woulda been goners."

"Have some faith in us Milla." Sash spoke, glancing behind her. "Get the civilians out of here, we'll deal with ol' Eggs Benedict."

Milla nodded, leading the other Mobians and humans away as Sonic and Sash turned around. "Well well, long time no see Eggman!"

"Shut up." Robotnik merely replied. "I was wondering when you little two pin cushions would show up."

"Heyheyhey, only _one_ of us here is a pin cushion!" Sash responded. "Now, what's with you going and attacking heavily populated areas like this? Seems like a bit out of your usual antics doesn't it?"

"That's what you think." Robotnik spoke. "This is all part of my plan."

"Plan?" Sonic teased. "What plan? After your last Death Egg blew up I thought you went into hiding!"

"Well, truth be told, I did." Robotnik answered, grinning. "However, let's just say I had a bit of a... _fortunate_ incident happen."

"Eh, won't save you from an ass-kicking as usual!" Sonic said, charging up a Spin-Dash and moving straight at the mad doctor. Robotnik merely grinned before a masive hulking red figure dropped from above, spiking the hedgehog spinball straight into the ground, making a small crater. Sonic popped out of the crater to see the familiar features; the hulking red muscles, the spiked jawline, the horns, the spiky cyan ponytail and eyebrows...

"Well well... long time no see, hedgehog." The figure spoke.

Sonic merely smirked. "Well well, nice to see you too Zavok!" Sonic shot back. "I thought I sent you and your sorry pack of Zeti losers packing after I trashed you on the Lost Hex!"

"You'd be a fool to think so." Zavok responded, cracking his knuckles. "Now hold still while I crack your skull." He growled, lunging forward with his fists and smashing the ground right where Sonic was.

"Sorry, you're gonna have to be a _little_ faster than that." Sonic countered, slamming into Zavok's backside and throwing him forward. The prideful Zeti growled before lunging at Sonic again, bringing his fist down towards the hedgehog. Sonic merely sidestepped out of the way as Zavok brought his fist down before the hedgehog delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. Zavok grabbed Sonic's foot mid-kick and whiled him around, soon throwing him straight into the side of a building, breaking the concrete and leaving a massive indentation in it.

"Alright, alright, I see you've still got some tricks up your sleeves!" Sonic said, getting up from the collision. "I can deal with this!"

"Euugh!" Sash yelled, Sonic looking over to see her currently being attacked by literal moving water. "Get your crummy wet mitts off of me!"

"Chaos?!" Sonic yelled, being distracted for long enough for Zavok to clobber him in the side of the head.

"Eeeeuch!" Sash said, Dragon Boosting out of the water. "I'd prefer to not have my clothes get wet, but seems like that's not gonna be an option!"

Chaos would reform back into its base 0 form, soon throwing an extended punch at the dragon. Sash ducked out of the way before sending a nasty tendril slice upwards at the arm, slicing the hand of the arm off as it splashed into a puddle on the ground. Chaos merely looked at the water before it slinked over and reformed back onto the destruction god's body.

"So he can reform..." Sash mumbled to herself. "Well, then he's gotta have a weak spot somewhere..." Her eyes narrowed, looking over the water creature as she dodged another watery slug from it. Seeing the floating pink brain core in its head, she decided to take a chance with that before charging at the watery figure. Chaos then threw a massive watery punch straight for Sash, but the dragon barely managed to dodge out of the way before colliding a kick to the brain core. Chaos didn't like that, as it collapsed into a mere puddle of water, starting to slink away before remorphing a few meters away from the dragon girl.

"Whassa matter, didn't like that, ya big drip?" Sash taunted, causing Chaos to lunge at her. Sash smirked before charging up a Dragon Boost, directing herself straight upwards right into Chaos's brain core again, splattering the watery figure into shambles. The droplets reformed again before the watery figure slunk away to a sewer drain.

"That's what I thought..." Sash smirked to herself as Zavok landed in a gigantic heap next to her, Sonic standing on top of him.

"Heh, same Zavok as ever. All bark and no bite." Sonic said, thumbing his nose, before looking to Robotnik. "Well, I dunno how you managed to get _Chaos_ back on your side of all things, especially since last I saw him he was moving on to the afterlife with Tikal."

"That's for me to know and for you to... well, never." Robotnik answered, hitting a button on his pod, sending a silent signal.

"Well we're gonna find it out regardless!" Sonic said, before his dragon partner let out a shriek. Sonic glanced back to see her struggling with her arms being held behind her back, being held there by a metal counterpart.

"What the-" Was what the hedgehog said before he felt his arms pinned behind his back by his own metal counterpart. "Well so ya finally decided to make more than one metal counterpart huh? Color me impressed!"

"Silence." Metal Sonic merely responded before whacking him in the back of the neck.

"As for why I say never, well..." Robotnik smirked, snapping his fingers. "My new acquaintance will show you why."

"Oh yeah?" Sash growled, squirming a bit, starting to get a bit loose. "And who might that be?"

" ** _Me._** " A voice responded before the large hound figure, now with the new pointed mask with red-tinted cracked eyeholes, descended from out of view to in front of the two, a burning aura of red surrounding him.

Sonic smirked. " _This_ edgelord is gonna stop us?" He said, soon breaking free of Metal Sonic. "Heh, I'll have this over in a quick-" He was interrupted when the hound figure sidestepped out of the way faster than Sonic could hit him. "..sec?"

 _'He's faster than Sonic?'_ Sash thought. _'No... that can't be right...'_

" _ **Dodge.**_ " The hound figure said, before moving faster than the hedgehog could react and delivering a smashing kick into the side of his face, sending him crashing into a wall harder than Zavok's collision did.

By that point Sash had broken out of her counterpart's grip and Dragon Boosted faster than the figure could react... but the figure had surprisingly reacted faster than Sash had expected, palming the Dragon Boost before slamming Sash into the ground. The dragon growled hard before she got back up, throwing a flurry of combat kicks and punches along with tendril slices, but the figure could keep up, blocking the attacks before slamming his fist hard into her gut, knocking the wind out of her entirely. Sash collapsed to the ground, unable to breathe...

"Well well, I am impressed my associate!" Robotnik said, pleased. "However... how are you going to dispose of them?"

" _ **A little special something possible with the Ruby's power...**_ " The figure replied as several small red cubes formed and picked up the two injured and beaten heroes off the ground.

"Y...you're not getting away from this..." Sash weakly spoke, unable to move from the cube's grip.

"Oh but we are!" Robotnik spoke. "Read it and weep you miserable lizard! You LOST!"

Sonic squirmed. "We're not giving up that easily!" He growled.

" _ **I am aware of that...**_ " The massive figure spoke. " ** _And that is why there is a special place for your kind..._** " He said, forming a small dark orb in his palm.

Sash tensed up. "And what might that be?" She growled.

" _ **It's a little something known as... Null Space.**_ " The figure spoke. " _ **Something possible with the power of the Phantom Ruby... a closed-off space where nothing ever exists.**_ "

Robotnik grinned. "Goodbye Sonic and Sash, my soon-to-be-erradicated nemeses. Enjoy all the nothing!" He spoke as the figure brought the orb between the two. Both Sonic and Sash tried to squirm harder, but the extent of their injuries was just making them more tired. The figure then shot a small red orb at the black one, soon causing it to expand into a harsh-sucking black hole. The cubes holding the duo dissipated as they were sucked into the void, their screams becoming silent as the void to Null Space shut...

Robotnik merely laughed maniacally. "Yes! Oh yes! Finally! The menacing blue hedgehog is finally out of my way!" He rejoiced.

" ** _And by the time they ever get out, if ever..._** " The figure said. " ** _It will be too late for the-_** " He was interrupted as a green cube collided with the side of his head. He looked over to see that the attacker was none other than an enraged Milla, Phantom Cubes and Phantom Spheres in hand.

"You... you MONSTER!" She yelled, firing off all her attacks at the figure at the same time. The figure looked unamused as he soon dodged out of the way before driving his fist right into the basset's liver. Milla gasped as her body collapsed, grabbing her torso in pain.

" ** _Amusing, but sloppy in execution._** " The figure spoke. " ** _What do we do with this one, doctor?_** "

"Eh, just throw her in the prison hold. I have a perfect cell for her..." Robotnik grinned as the figure picked up the weakened basset hound...

* * *

Dull thuds and pain were spread all across the dragon's body as she hit the ground hard. "AAaaaahhnn..." she groaned through her teeth as she started to get up, gripping her head in pain. "Oh ancestors... my head..."

"Y-you okay Sash?" A voice said as Sash felt a hand on her shoulder. The dragon looked over to see none other than her hedgehog partner trying to help her up.

"A little sore... owww..." She groaned, getting to her feet with Sonic's help. "Where... where are we?"

"Apparently something called 'Null Space' if Eggman's claim is anything to go by..." Sonic said, soon both him and Sash looking out into the surrounding area; a deep swirling void, spreading out towards no specific point in any direction, swirling columns connecting the infinitely stretching floor and ceiling of the dimension. Several dark purple cubes seemed to float in the absolute nothingness; the same cubes that made up their very foothold. Electrical bolts would seem to strike far off in the distance at certain points...

"He said nothing ever exists here?" Sash asked.

"Well first of all, his claim's not been made bullshit since we exist in here." Sonic said. "Secondly, there's gotta be some escape from here somewhere!"

"But... how?" Sash spoke. "This place seems to extend off towards nothing... and we barely have any room to run!"

"Hmmmm..." Sonic said, approaching the edge of the platform and hopping down... only to land on another platform of cubes that materialized under his feet. "...huh. Guess the ground only forms when we're close."

Sash lept down next to Sonic. "Well... what do we do?"

"Find a way out." Sonic said, charging up a Super Peel-Out. "Let's start searching!"

Sash nodded, charging up a Super Peel-Out of her own before the two took off into the space, the ground forming underneath them as they ran. The terrain itself seemed to act more natural, sloping like the normal world would as the two continued their run. However, as the minutes went by, their hopes had started to fall as there was seemingly no way out of the closed off space...

Sash skidded to a halt. "...he was right." She spoke. "There really is no way out..."

"..." Sonic remained silent.

"Sonic... what do we do now?"

"...I don't know." Sonic spoke. "There's nothing we _can_ do now except wait."

"Wait?" Sash spoke as she saw the hedgehog sit down. "Wait for _what_?"

"I have faith the rest of our team will find our way to get us out of here." Sonic spoke. "We just need to bide our time."

"...right." Sash spoke, sitting down next to the hedgehog. "Well... at least we have eachother, right?"

Sonic would give a sad smile. "True that..." He said, lightly hugging the dragon.

* * *

 _'Green_ _' Hill, several hours after the incident in Station Square..._

A massive explosion resounded as the side of a massive pyramid base exploded, a massive hulking robot appearing in the hole blown in the side of it, crimson in color with a golden hood, and currently firing twin miniguns at the hordes of Egg Pawns coming at him. **"WORTHLESS CONSUMER MODELS."** The robot said, continuing it's fire.

"Dammit Omega! This is an _infiltration_ mission!" An annoyed voice said through his built-in comm unit. " _Stealth!_ _STEALTH!_ We don't know what Eggman plans to do with that basset girl!"

" **THERE WILL BE NO RISK IF THERE ARE NO EGGMAN ROBOTS TO INITIATE THAT RISK.** " The robot, Omega, spoke. " **ALL EGGMAN'S ROBOTS MUST BE ELIMINATED.** "

"Are you sure this isn't your vendetta against him speaking?" The female voice asked.

" **THAT IS NOT ON YOUR ACCESS PRIVLEDGES.** " Omega answered.

"Look, Shadow will join in with you shortly to assist. Just... can you try not to level the place with you inside it before he gets there?" The female voice said.

" **I AM MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR THIS MISSION ON MY OWN.** " Omega droned, smashing an Egg Pawn's head with his hand. " **I NEED NO ASSISTANCE.** "

"...you're hopeless at times..." The female voice spoke.

" **I WILL REMEMBER THAT ROUGE.** " Omega spoke as he continued to smash through Egg Pawn after Egg Pawn. Sirens were going off loudly as the destruction continued before the red-energy cloaked hound appeared.

" **UNIDENTIFIED ENERGY SIGNALS DETECTED. NEW COMBAT TYPE FOUND.** " Omega spoke. " **UNKNOWN ID.** "

"Unknown ID?!" The female voice, Rouge, said. "Omega, what the hell is going on in there?!"

" **RELAX.** " Omega said, his arms morphing into missile launchers. " **AS YOU MEATSACKS AND FURRIES SAY, 'I GOT DIS'.** "

"Omega no!" Rouge yelled. "Disengage! I repeat, DISENGAGE!"

" **NEGATORY.** " Omega said, opening fire. " **COMMENCING EXTERMINATION.** " The rockets exploded on collision with the hound himself, throwing a lot of smoke into the air... only to clear to reveal the hound intact, still floating there, a red glow in front of him.

" ** _Cute._** " The figure said, the gem in his test starting to glow. " ** _Now... how about I show you what true power is?_** "

" **NO.** "

The figure's eyes narrowed. " ** _Well, you're spirited, I'll give you that._** " He spoke, the glow from the Ruby in his chest growing. " ** _However... that doesn't mean anything once I'll be through with you. Goodbye._** " With that, the Ruby let our a bright red light, overloading Omega's optics.

" **ERROR. ERROR. OPTICS NON-FUNCTIONAL. OPPONENT T-ToO STROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-** " _BZZZT!_

* * *

At the edge of the cliffsides, near the massive pyramid, stood another hedgehog, black in fur and spines with red accents on the tops of the spines, tan muzzle and white chest fur, equipped with inhibitor rings and hover shoes, wearing... a red hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and a pair of shades?

"Dammit Rogue, was this really necessary for interrupting my vacation?" The hedgehog asked over the comm unit. "I swear, G.U.N. is so erratic in their mission calls..."

"Now's not the time Shadow!" Rouge said. "I've lost Omega's signal! Like, 100% lost him!"

"Hmph. As always, I have to go in and do clean-up..." The hedgehog, Shadow, muttered to himself. "I'll recontact you once I've located him."

"Please, just _be careful!_ " Rouge spoke. "If something was able to take down Omega, who knows what they could do to you!"

"Aren't I always?" Shadow said before leaping down the cliff, a familiar green gem in hand as he warped from spire to spire, closing in on the pyramid. However, it soon would become difficult as red cubes started to materialize and shot off at the black hedgehog, smashing the ground just fractions of a second where he was before.

"The hell...?" Shadow muttered to himself. "Rouge, any readings on what kind of weapon that is?"

"Negative." Rouge responded. "The readings are all over the place. I can't get a lock on what those things are."

Shadow sighed as he smashed through a set of Egg Pawns as he closed in on the pyramid... until the glowing red figure appeared again in front of the hedgehog, causing him to skid to a halt.

" _ **So... you must be Shadow. Shadow Robotnik.**_ " The figure spoke. " _ **Creation of the DNA of a Mobian hedgehog and the Black Arms DNA, and nearly crashed the Space Colony ARK into Mobius to destroy it over a misguided wish from your deceased human sister.**_ "

' _What?!_ ' Shadow thought. ' _How-_ '

" ** _Do I know that?_** " The figure spoke, shaking his head. " ** _Your kind is so naive. There are many things I know of. Much like how you will fall in what I am about to do._** "

"You really think you can take on me?" Shadow spoke.

"Shadow! Don't get cocky!" Rouge said through the comm unit.

" _ **You won't be needing this.**_ " The figure said, psychically pulling Shadow's comm unit away from him and then crushing it with one hand. " _ **No need for other prying eyes.**_ "

The hedgehog gritted his teeth as the another figure soon came down in front of him. " ** _After all... I feel this should be a suitable opponent for you..._** " The new figure... it was next to impossible to tell what it was. It's face was obscured by a visor with a single red light eye at the front of it, and most of it's body was covered in armor, save for the long cyan tail-like appendage coming out from behind its body.

Shadow clenched his fists. "And just who might this be?"

" ** _You may not know..._** " The figure said, rising higher into the sky. " _ **But she is the ultimate dragon, forged in a lab and made of all five DNA structures of dragons. She is the ultimate life form...**_ "

"Bullshit." Shadow said, clenching his fists. "I'm the ultimate life form."

" ** _We will see..._** " The figure spoke. " ** _Merga... dispose of him._** "

"With _pleasure._ " The other figure spoke, soon charging at the hedgehog with her claws extended. Shadow merely dodged out of the way before delivering a roundhouse kick to the back of the dragon's head. Merga growled before her tail shifted colors to tan, slamming her tail into the ground and sending a wave of earth straight at the hedgehog.

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow yelled, firing a volley of Chaos energy-infused spears from his hand at the dragon. Several of the spears collided with Merga, causing her to growl in pain as her scales shifted color to red, soon breathing fire at the hedgehog. Shadow barely managed to dodge out of the way of the fire as it soon set ablaze to the grass and dead foliage, a fire starting to break out across the area.

"You won't win this." Merga spoke, soon smashing her tail into Shadow. "It's hopeless."

"I don't have the time for this." Shadow spoke, shoving the dragon away. "Stay out of my way." He said, soon taking off for the pyramid. But the lead would be short lived as Merga soon dive-kicked Shadow in the back of the head, scraping his face along the ground.

"No." The dragon responded. "Now... any last words before I gut you like the pathetic excuse of a lifeform?"

"On-one..." Shadow smirked. " _Sayonara._ " He said, as he shed his inhibitor rings, soon starting to glow red.

"WHA-" was all that came out of Merga's mouth before a violent Chaos Blast erupted, taking part of the valley with it as a massive crater was left in its place, leaving Shadow as the only survivor... albeit unconscious. The hound figure then reappeared over the hedgehog's unconscious body.

" _ **What did I say.**_ " He said, picking up Shadow by the head. " _ **You would lose. Now... farewell.**_ " He said as he warped Shadow out of his hand to an unknown location...

"So, have the little intruders been taken care of?" Robotnik spoke over the hound's comm unit.

" _ **They are gone, doctor...**_ " The figure said. " _ **Well, aside from one little peeping tom...**_ "

"Not to worry." Robotnik responded. "Once the sentinels launch, they'll all be exterminated. Now, report back to base."

" _ **As you wish.**_ " The hound said before warping away...

* * *

 ** _Times have become dire. Sonic and Sash sent to an inescapable void beyond time and space, Milla captured and imprisoned, and now Omega scrapped and Shadow sent to who knows where. With major heavy hitters out of the picture, Dr. Robotnik is starting to get the upper hand. But what of Tails and Carol? Where are they in all this? What is the Phantom Ruby's power? What happened to Omega? Tune in next time for Chapter 2: 'Fallen Worlds'..._**


	3. Chapter 2: Fallen Worlds

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1_**

 _Chapter 2: Fallen Worlds_

* * *

 _Six months later..._

A light rumbling occurred from outside the underground base, the walls torn and worn from wear and the attacks, cracks and parts of the walls chipped away, pipes and vents of varying size and structure running across the ceiling of the dimly lit room. Connected to the far wall was a massive computer screen, several other smaller ones connected randomly around the sides of it, a control panel just under it. Off to the right were several large crates and rubble batches, pieces broken off from the attacks of Robotnik's robots. In the center of the room was a small raised table, housing a couple more computers and data towers. To the right of the massive screen and at the far back of the room were to reinforced Avalinium doors, and near the crates was a teleporter pad. This was Resistance HQ... for what little resistance there was.

At the computer screen on the middle table was an aged 16 and well-endowed pink hedgehog, her arms and legs clearly showing they were toned a bit from exercise she had done. Her outfit was of a white ling-sleeved sweatshirt with a red cross across the front and a red hood with red forearms and a red lower border, accented by the black form-fitting shorts and the white and red boots with a black top and golden ring on the front. she wore a red beanie cap that rested back a bit with a heart button on the right side, and her long back spines had been fashioned into a ponytail. A large red-and-yellow hammer was slung over her right shoulder, a small red crystal at the base of the long orange handle. Next to her was a small ten-year-old cream-colored rabbit with orange accents on her ears and around her brown eyes, an orange tuft of her hair peaking out in front a bit, freckles adorning the bridge between her eyes above her white furry muzzle. A pink scrunchie tied the base of her ears at the back of her head, well complementing her pink shirt and lavender overalls with pink knees and and front pouch. Her legs and her left arm were robotic, and a small hero Chao perched on her shoulder. Next to the two was a yellow and black Gizoid.

"Any contact with the others Amy?" The rabbit asked worriedly.

The hedgehog, Amy, shook her head. "Nothing. Team Chaotix haven't had a response yet, and I have no idea where our leader is anyways..."

"He's probably out trying to protect that giant rock of his." Another female voice spoke, coming from the ceiling. Amy would deadpan, looking up.

"Rouge, do you honestly think he'd go out in these conditions just to get the Master Emerald?" Amy groaned.

"I don't think so, I know so." The voice said, dropping from the ceiling to reveal a 22-year-old female white-haired bat, well-curved in her body and chest, tan skin and muzzle, and large black wings on her back. Her outfit consisted of a black halterneck crop top with a window under a magenta cropped jacket with a black scarf and black skin-fitting shorts and gloves. Alongside this, she also has magenta and black shoes to match her top. Part of her hair was in a long side bang that became more magenta towards the tip, and she had dark lavender eyeliner that complemented her teal eyes. "And I know he's going after that rock of his."

"But... why?" Cream asked.

"Think of it this way." Rouge responded. "Would _you_ leave a rock of that much power out in the open like that?"

"...okay I guess that kinda makes sense." Cream spoke before another rumble occurred. "But it's not exactly safe out there..."

"Speaking of not safe, where's Silver?" Amy spoke.

"He's off picking up that new recruit from Avalice's Resistance HQ I think." Rouge said. "At least we have those teleport pad links between the two bases so he can get here safely."

"'Safely'. Yeah, sure." Amy spoke, before looking to the robot. "Gemerl, are there any sort of readings from Knuckles?"

"That... would be a negative." The robot spoke. "No sightings of any echidna activity."

"Not even the Master Emerald?" Cream asked.

"Negative." Gemerl replied. "No readings yet."

"Oh..." Cream spoke, her ears drooping a bit more. "I hope he's okay..."

"I'm sure he will be Cream..." Amy reassured as another rumble occurred. "We just need to give it time..." At that moment the teleporter pad activated up, a faint blue light emanating from it as it soon whirred to life, catching the hedgehog's attention. "Oh! That must be Silver and the new recruit!"

Indeed as who stepped out of the teleporter first was a silver furred hedgehog with golden eyes and a tan muzzle, cyan markings on it, wearing a black beanie with a cyan trim design, his spines held back in a frayed ponytail. On him was a navy blue vest with golden trim, white fluffy collar, black shorts with navy blue gloves with golden cuffs and cyan trim leading to a circle on the palms of the gloves. He also had teal-toed golden boots that came up to his knees. "Sorry we're late." The hedgehog spoke. "Avalice's HQ had a bit of a holdup I had to help take care of."

"Oh my..." Cream said. "Was it more of those robots Mr. Silver?"

"Well, that..." Silver spoke. "That and the new recruit didn't really get along with Spade all that well."

"Did he explain why?" Amy asked.

Silver merely shook his head. "Never explained. Said it was something personal."

"Well, if it's personal, best you don't go prying around in it." Rouge spoke. "Last thing we need is scaring off rookies because of prying ones here."

The teleporter made another sound. "Oh good, that must be him no- WOAAAAH!" Silver spoke as he saw a large stack of boxes being carried by a figure behind them.

"H-Heh, w-will be right there!" The figure spoke as he tried to step forward... and tripped on a cable, falling forward. "G-Guuahhh!"

"Woah there boy!" Silver said, becoming surrounded in a cyan aura as the boxes froze in midair. "Easy there. You alright?"

"H-heh, thanks..." The figure said, getting up from where he fell, revealing it to be a white basset-husky mix breed of hound, with cyan tipped ears and tuft of fur on his head and a cyan-tipped tail. He was wearing blue sneakers along with blue jeans along with a white shirt with short blue sleeves. "I really should have taken less boxes with me..."

"Hey, it's fine kid." Silver said, psychically moving the boxes onto the other crates. "Why not introduce yourself to the rest of the Resistance?"

"Right right." The basset-husky said nervously, turning to the rest of the group. "H-hey, everyone. Salamon Amihan, Tech junkie and RC expert at your service."

"Amy Rose; head of communications for the Mobius Resistance HQ and your typical hammer-wielding girl." Amy answered.

"Cream Kaik, second of Team Jubilee and half-rabbot weapon." Cream shyly stated, blushing.

"Serial Model E-263 'Gemerl'. Artifical Giziod and temporary arsenal. At your service." Gemerl spoke.

"And I'm Rouge Kagayaku, head spy and stealth expert for the Mobian Resistance." Rouge spoke, her wings moving ever so slightly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, cutie~"

Salamon blushed. "Uhhh..."

"Don't worry kid, she does this with most of the guys." Amy spoke.

"Hey, a little flirting never killed anyone, now did it?" Rouge countered, winking. "Besides, we wanna make the newbie feel welcome, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-" Amy started before she was interrupted.

"Then we're on the same page." Rouge said, before looking back to Salamon. "Make yourself at home sweetie."

"Th-thanks..." Salamon blushed, starting to move the boxes he brought. "You guys have a workbench somewhere in here?"

"I think there might be one in the back..." Cream said, walking towards the crates near the side and lifting them out of the way with her robotic arm. "Let me just move these you."

"Thanks Cream." Salamon said, moving past the crates with his boxes and getting to a workbench not too far off. "So... where's the leader?"

"Out getting a rock." Rouge said. "It'll make sense in context."

At that moment a banging came at the east door. "Hey! Open up!" A voice yelled.

"Password." Amy asked.

"Snooping as usual I see!" The voice said.

"Clear!" Amy said as the door opened, in rushing a large red dreadlocked echidna wearing a western hat wearing a yellow vest and green cargo shorts along with red boots and white gloves with spikes on the knuckles, holding a gigantic daimond-cut emerald gemstone as the door shut behind him.

"Whew! Good save there Amy!" The echidna said, setting the gigantic gemstone down. "Thought I was about to become lunchmeat for those Marauders out there!"

Amy sweatdropped. "...you seriously went and got that thing Knuckles?"

"Hey, better than leaving it abandoned in Hidden Palace where Eggman could easily snag it like all the previous times!" Knuckles retorted. "Besides, better we have it on our side than Eggman have it."

"True." Amy spoke. "At least better we have some amount of Chaos Energy on our side. Especially since the Chaos Emeralds have went missing."

"So the Master Emerald's the only shot we got." Knuckles said.

"You gonna be okay keeping it in the same room as Rouge?" Amy teased. "After all, you know how she is ab-"

"She's not touching it, period." Knuckles said, before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Wait, where's the rookie that was following me?"

"You had one with you?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, burnt the hell outta those Marauders that were chasing us for the Emerald!" Knuckles said. "Is he still outside?"

"Would you assholes let me in already?" Another voice came from outside the door.

"Password?" Rouge asked.

"Hey, I helped out your echidna leader, that's enough of a password." The voice said. Rouge would then activate a screen with a viewpoint of outside the door. The figure appeared to be a feline of some sort, orange fur with messy brown hair on his head and at the tip of his tail; a lion, wearing a black tanktop and black jeans, with black fingerless gloves and black boots. And if his burning red eyes said anything, he wasn't too happy.

"Well, at least there's not robots with him..." Rouge said, activating the door control before the feline walked in.

"About time." He said. "What's the hostility for?"

"The metric shitton of Eggman Forces running amok across Mobius." Rouge said. "Where've you been the past six months?"

"On said planet, fighting said slag heaps." The feline deadpanned back. "It ain't. Fun."

"Then... why'd you want to join the Resistance?" Amy asked.

"Because like you guys, I'm sick of a fatass sending out his forces across both planets and killing people." The feline spoke. "Someone's gotta take stand."

"Well, you got the attitude." Silver said. "But do you have the grit?"

"Oh the kids definitely got the grit." Knuckles said. "Trashed at least several dozen robots I missed when I ran into him on the way back from Angel Island."

"Well, that's impressive." Gemerl spoke. "By chance, how did he do it?"

"The kid's a natural pyrokinetic!" Knuckles said, giving the feline a hard pat on the back, knocking him forward a bit. "Perfect for melting down all of Eggman's buckets of scrap metal!"

Amy smiled. "Then he's perfect or the group!" She said, extending a hand. "Welcome to the Resistance... ehm..."

"Aaron." The feline responded. "Aaron Kasarion."

"Aaron!" Amy said, shaking his hand. "Welcome aboard."

"Thanks, I guess." The feline said, sticking his hands into his pockets. "So... where do I sit?"

"Anywhere that's not a computer bank." Rouge said. Aaron nodded before walking over to sit on a crate near the workbench before Salamon took notice.

"Oh! Are you a new recruit too?" Salamon asked, looking up from the workbench at the feline.

"Why are you asking?" Aaron asked.

"Hey, at least I'm not the complete inexperienced one here for once!" Salamon commented.

"What about combat experience?"

"Well... ehm..."

"None I take it." Aaron commented. "Like I thought, a gearhead."

"So?" Salamon asked. "I'm not much of a fighter. I prefer the mechanical aspects of strategy."

"So you prefer to hide behind cover and just use bots to do your bidding?"

"No!" Salamon argued.

"Would you two knock it off?!" Rouge yelled. "We're supposed to be a team here!"

"Fine..." Aaron grumbled. It was silent for a bit before a sound came on from the main computer terminal.

"Hello?! Hello!" A gruff older voice spoke. "You guys there or am I talkin' to an empty room right now?!"

"About time Vector!" Amy said, rushing to the computer console. "Where are you guys?! Where's the Chaotix?!"

"Relax Amy, we're fine." The voice, Vector, said. "We're just doin' a bit of recon. Good news though!"

"And what's that?" Amy asked, looking annoyed.

"We've found out where that slimeball's been taking any of the surviving Mobians that are resisting him!" Vector chimed in. "Turns out over here on Westside Island's Chemical Plant Zone, he's now got a new spaceport built in order to take any survivors into a space prison!"

"Well, aside from the space part, this is looking promising!" Amy spoke.

"Yeahyeahyeah! He's herding them all like it's a cattle drive! IT's nu-" A younger voice started speaking before he became muffled and quieter.

"Charmy getcha mouth away from the comm unit!" Vector said, with what sounded like shoving. "Either way, we've got a location, but the problem is we're too large ourselves to try and smuggle ourselves onboard that ship. We're gonna need to find another way on there."

"Understood." Amy said, glancing back to the two new rookies. "...and I think I know just who to send. See you when you get back."

"Sure thing Amy." Vector spoke. "Chaotix out." The communications line then cut.

"Rookies! Front and center!" Amy spoke, both Aaron and Salamon getting up and walking to in front of Amy. "Alright you two, looks like the circumstances have lined up for you to get your first mission down!"

"A-A mission? Already?" Salamon asked.

"Alright, what are we doing now?" Aaron asked, crossing his arms.

"I was just getting to that." Amy spoke, the main monitor bringing up a map of Westside Island. "We've received communications from Team Chaotix about where the citizens of Mobius and Avalice are being taken. What we need _you_ two to do is head there and grab some recon photos of the ships so we can formulate a proper plan to rescue those prisoners!"

"So a recon mission?" Salamon asked. "Sweet! I've got the perfect camera I can use for this!"

"A recon mission?" Aaron asked. "Joy. This oughta be fun."

"Suck it up you two." Knuckles said, setting his hands on their shoulders. "You two are the ones we need for this mission, so get used to eachother." Both Aaron and Salamon merely glared at eachother before looking back to Amy.

"Let's just hope either of them are better than that wolf boy with a sword that joined a while back." Rouge muttered under her breath. "Went out head first and immediately became bullet fodder for those robotic goons..."

"Thankfully enough there's a teleport pad right nearby the Chemical Plant, in one of Tails' old abandoned workshops." Amy said, typing something into the console of the computer. "Once you get there, take care not to get attacked by any of Eggman's robots. The last thing we need is his troops finding a teleport pad that leads straight to our base."

"Right right." Aaron said, before noticing something. "Where'd the mutt go?"

"Sorry!" Salamon said, soon coming back with a backpack. "Just had to grab a few things for this!"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "This is gonna be a long mission..."

"Alright you two!" Amy said as the warp pad fired up. "Get going!"

Both Salamon and Aaron nodded as they stepped onto the warp pad and teleported towards Westside Island...

* * *

 _Ruined Station Square, Spring Yard District..._

"C'mon... c'mon..." A voice said that came from an an orange two-tailed kitsune with a white muzzle and white furred stomach. He was wearing red cargo pants with a belt and a specified blaster on it. He wore red and white shoes on his feet and a worn brown flight jacket. He was busy working on a familiar collapsed crimson robot. "Agh, dammit! I don't have the right fuses!"

"How much longer is this gonna be Tailsy?" Another voice said, the speaker being a green wildcat, with darker green patterns and black-tipped ears, and a white-furred stomach, her black-tipped furry tail was whipping a bit from her anxiety. Her figure alone was shown of some built muscles that had developed over the years, as well as her bust. She was wearing a black tight-fitting tanktop and short green cargo shorts, a rope tied as a belt, normal combat boots, and a long worn red scarf. "The longer we're out here in the open, the more we run a risk of that hound thing finding us!"

"I just need to grab these last few fuses..." Tails responed, pulling something out of the robot's main chassis. "Alright, now if I just re-wire his main power source..." He trailed off as he worked, unaware of the water rising out of the sewer lid behind him.

"Uh... Tailsy?" The wildcat spoke, grabbing the Mech-Blade off her back.

"Hold on Carol, I think I almost got it!" Tails said, rerouting Omega's power source.

"Tailsy..." Carol said, morphing the Mech-Blade to her scythe mode.

"Just a little longer Carol!" Tails said as the water blob emerging from the sewer started to morph into the familiar destruction god.

" _MILES! BEHIND YOU!_ " Carol yelled as she knocked Tails out of the way of Chaos 0's attack.

"Aaauck!" Tails said, looking up from where Carol tackled him. "C-Chaos?! Now of all times?!"

"No time to talk!" Carol said, rushing Chaos 0. "I'm not ready to become a victim of Avalican animation yet!" She growled, slicing at the watery figure with the Mech-Blade. Chaos 0 merely lopped off from where the slice was and then reformed back to normal as if nothing had happened.

"Attacking his body is useless!" Tails said, shooting at Chaos 0's brain core, causing it to collapse. "His brain is the weak point!"

"What is this, some kinda video game?!" Carol growled as Chaos 0 reformed, soon leaping up onto a light pole and trying to attack from above, throwing massive globs of water down onto the two. Carol growled before rushing straight for the light pole, her Mech-Blade cleaving through the metal like it was butter. Chaos 0 lept down into the ground, disappearing completely... before a rumbling occurred from under Carol's feet, causing the wildcat to leap back as a geyser erupted from the spot where she stood. The wildcat gritted her teeth as she lept back before rushing forward again. Chaos 0 expected a typical lunge and thrusted his watery fists forward, but a gleam from Carol's eyes had her skid right under Chaos 0, angling the scythe blade of her Mech-Blade straight up as she bisected Chaos 0, striking the brain core in the process. Chaos melted back into a puddle as he slunk away before reforming back on a higher platform. The water god screeched before white metal heads shaped like Chaos 0's came down, pulling in water from the storm drains.

"Artifical Chaos!" Tails said, gripping his blaster tightly as he rolled out of the way of an eye lazer blast and ducked behind rubble. "Shit! We can't deal with Chaos while he's got his chronies out!"

"I don't suppose you have any bright ideas?!" Carol yelled, one of the Artificial Chaos lashing its arms out for her, shredding through part of her left ear. "Aaaack!" She yelled, gripping her damaged ear.

"You take cover! I'll fire at 'em!" Tails yelled, setting his blaster to double-laser before opening fire on the Artifical Chaos's, managing to snipe down each Aritifical Chaos head. One by one each of them fell until only Chaos 0 was left.

"Alright, come here ya big drip!" Carol yelled, charging for Chaos 0.

"Carol wait!" Tails yelled as Carol attempted to take a swing at Chaos 0... but then the destruction god lept from the perch and dove back down towards the main floor, morphing back into a blob of large water... then starting to reform into a larger version of himself, more muscular, bony structures now in the arms with hollow wrist structures, inside each structure a magenta gemstone...

"Wh-WHAT?!" Tails gasped, starting to tremble a bit. "H- _HE CAN TRANSFORM WITHOUT THE CHAOS EMERALDS_?!"

"A little swoleness ain't gonna deter me!" Carol growled, lunging for Chaos 2 now. However, the now larger water beast now gripped Carol tightly, soon shaking her before slamming her on the ground repeatedly, cracking the pavement from the sheer force.

"Let go of her!" Tails yelled, firing a shot at Chaos 2's head. Chaos 2 collapsed, releasing its grip on Carol as she hit the ground, mewling in pain as Chaos slunk backwards. The kitsune rushed to the wildcat to check on her.

"Carol..." Tails spoke. "Are you alright?"

Carol merely coughed a bit. "H-heh... I'm perfectly fine..." She stammered.

"Don't lie to me!" Tails said, lifting her up. "Let me get you away from here. I can heal you up when you're safe."

"T-Tails!" Carol cried, a scared look her eyes as she pointed to behind Tails. The kitsune barely reacted in time as Chaos 2 bright its arms down on the spot where Tails was, smashing the pavement into fragments. Tails quickly set down Carol on top of a higher ledge before jumping back down, switching one of the laser settings to fire as his gun becomes a plasma sword.

"Alright, you want some?!" Tails yelled at the hulking water beast. " _I'm not scared of you! Bring it!_ " He growled, lunging at Chaos 2 with the plasma sword as Chaos 2 brought its arms down on top of him. Tails blocked the arms with the sword, slicing through the water and creating steam but colliding with the bony structures in his arms. Tails soon knocked the arms away before aiming for the brain core, striking it with the plasma sword. Chaos 2 recoiled in pain, grabbing its head as Tails went for the legs, slicing through them... but then Chaos 2 collapsed ontop of Tails, trapping the kitsune inside the massive water blob. Tails' eyes widened, accidentally releasing his grip on his blaster as he struggled to get out. The more he struggled to get out, the more Chaos 2 forced water into his mouth and nose, and even when his head broke free of the water, several watery tentacles would emerge from the blob and force his head back in. Tails struggled more, the panic starting to rise inside him as Chaos 2 forced water in through his mouth and nose more... until he became still, unmoving. Chaos 2 then slunk away from the kitsune, leaving him sunk, unconscious...

"T-Tailsy!" Carol cried, getting down to the kitsune despite her injuries. However, her cry alerted Chaos 2, as the watery god of destruction turned back to the two, raising its arms over its head, ready to smash its arms down...

At that moment two large magenta vortexes opened up behind Chaos 2, delaying its attack as it looked behind itself, seeing the vortexes... before blue and lavender blurs shot out of the portals, headed straight for Chaos 2. The watery being raised its light shield, the two figures bouncing off the shield and landing on two separate vantage points. The blue one revealed to be a familiar hedgehog, black eyes and shorter spines, a lighter blue fur color and only wearing dark blue shorts. The other one was also familiar; the short lilac fur, the spiky purple hair with twin ankle-length whip-like ponytails, the red scarf, the stylish and fragile-looking blue boots and gloves, the matching headgear, and the form-fitting black tank top tucked into tight blue shorts doing nothing at all to hide how slender the girl is.

Carol's jaw dropped. "S-S-SASH?!"

The dragon spoke no words before she went to fighting the water creature. Chaos 2 raised its arms to defend itself with its light shield, but the dragon's fisticuff combos showed no forms of letting up, continuously wailing on the shield as a whole, occasionally using her tendrils as cracks started appearing in the shield. It wasn't long before the dragon performed a Dragon Boost, smashing through the shield, striking the brain core and causing the watery figure to rear back in pain. The hedgehog then ran atop the upper buildings before taking a spinning jump onto the top of Chaos 2, whacking him in the brain core again. Chaos 2 melted into the ground before slinking away into the storm drain...

The hedgehog ran after the water, soon stomping his foot angrily as Chaos 2 escaped into the sewer.

"I at least appreciate your help." The dragon said, before looking at Carol and the unconscious kitsune. She said nothing, walking over and feeling the vulpine's pulse. "It's faint... but he's still alive."

"He is?" Carol asked.

"He needs the water pumped out of him." The dragon spoke. "Move."

"Wait, wh-"

"Dammit Carol we don't have time to screw around with this!" The dragon growled, shoving the feline out of the way. Soon enough the dragon had started pumping on the kitsune's chest, starting to force water out of the kitsune's lungs. She alternated between the chest pumps and the mouth breaths before the kitsune started coughing, water starting to come up before he leaned up, coughing up water and blood at the same time.

"Aaa... aaa-aaagh..." Tails moaned, holding his head in pain as his eyes were clamped shut. "Oooohh gods... my chest..."

"Are you alright?" The dragon asked, kneeling next to the kitsune.

Tails' eyes shot open. "S-Sash?"

"...how do you know me?" The dragon asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Wait..." Tails said, looking over the figure again. "You're not our Sash, are you?"

"'Your' Sash?" The dragon asked, before the hedgehog walked over and waved hi.

"Tailsy, what're you talking about?" Carol asked.

"I think... yeah, it's gotta be that!" Tails said, getting up, causing the hedgehog to jump back in shock.

"What... are you saying?" The dragon asked.

"Okay, it's gonna sound like a stretch, but hear me out." Tails said. "Based on everything we've been seeing so far, from the phenomena of past enemies coming back, all the spacial distortion, and now Sonic and Sash's past selves showing up, Eggman must have something that's messing with multiple timelines! That would explain how these two got pulled out and brought here to our time; Eggman's new weapon must have messed with their timelines and pulled them here!"

"I think I get it now..." Carol said. "Basically, Eggman's using a dimension distorter or something to rip apart realities and paste 'em here to build his empire!"

"Exactly!" Tails said.

"So... where exactly do we fit into the puzzle?" The dragon asked, the hedgehog nodding alongside her.

"Well, in our situation, you two are the only shots we have." Carol spoke. "Our Sash and Sonic got sent to some sort of pocket dimension, leaving us stranded without help to stop Eggman from using whatever that thing he's using is."

"So you're expecting us to take place of the two?" The dragon spoke. "What exactly is in it for us?"

"Well..." Tails said, none of the group being aware of Omega behind them, now slowly powering up. "Saving Mobius and Avalice from an eggolomaniac, stopping a genocidal maniac from killing several dozens of innocent Mobians and Avalicians, smashing a metric ton of Eggman robots-"

" **COUNT ME IN.** " A voice said from behind Tails, catching the group off guard as the young Sonic jumped in shock, running in front of Tails and holding his arms out to the sides to protect him.

"O-Omega!" Tails said. "I-I thought my reboot didn't work on you!"

" **BLAME THE FACT THAT MY REBOOT SOFTWARE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED EVER SINCE THAT FAT EGG SEALED ME IN THAT BASE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.** " Omega spoke, before looking at the small Sonic. " **DO NOT BE AFRAID SMALL BLUE PINEAPPLE MAMMAL, I AM NOT GOING TO HURT HIM.** "

"The hell is this guy?" The dragon spoke.

" **YOU ASK OF ME?** " Omega spoke. " **I AM E-123 OMEGA, THE MOST POWERFUL OF THE E-SERIES MODELS OF ROBOTS. EQUIPPED WITH THE MOST DANGEROUS AND LETHAL WEAPON SYSTEMS TO DATE.** " He spoke, his robotic hands retracting and morphing into miniguns. " **FUEL-INJECTED TURBO CHARGED MINIGUNS CAPABLE OF FIRING AT NEARLY 9,000 ROUNDS PER SECOND.** " The miniguns the retracted and out slotted two flamethrowers. " **ION SPARK IGNITED TWIN GASOLINE FLAMETHROWERS CAPABLE OF REACHING TEMPERATURES OF OVER 1000 DEGREES.** " The flamethrowers retracted and then missile racks appeared in the ends of the arms. " **EGGMAN CODE-SEEKING GUIDED MISSILES WITH AN EXPLOSIVE CAPACITY TO PIERCE SOLID STEEL FRAMING.** " The racks retracted before the gauntlet sides of his arms opened. " **TWIN CHAOS DRIVE-AUGMENTED LASER CANNONS, ARMOR PIERCING.** " Then the gauntlets retracted and the torso opened up, revealing... a drink cup with a straw?

"Omega... what is that?" Tails asked, confused.

" **MY RECENT UPGRADE THANKS TO G.U.N.: MILKSHAKE PRODUCTION.** " Omega spoke. " **REGRETTABLY IT ONLY CAME INSTALLED WITH THREE FLAVORS.** " The small Sonic seemed to get excited and ran up to grab the milkshake, starting to drink it.

"Aaaaaaand how exactly are milkshakes going to help fighting Eggman?" Carol asked, crossing her arms.

" **THEY WON'T; THEY'RE JUST A FRINGE BENEFIT.** " Omega said. " **DOES ANYONE ELSE ASIDE FROM THE SMALL BLUE ONE WANT ONE?** "

"I'm fine." Tails spoke, before his watch started beeping. "Huh?"

"What's up Tailsy?" Carol asked.

"...Tailsy?" The dragon asked, looking at Carol with a deadpan expression. "Good god Carol, you got this soft?"

"You're not talkin' to 'your' Carol, remember that." Carol retorted. "Anyways, whatcha got on your specs Tailsy?"

"There's some sort of signal coming from Green Hill..." Tails said. "It looks like more temporal and spacial distortion!"

"You think that's where we'll find Eggman fucking around?" Carol asked.

"Without a doubt." Tails said. "Let's get moving, we might be able to get there in time!"

The others nodded, before the five took off for the hills...

* * *

Soon enough the two rookies would arrive at the edge of the Chemical Plant Zone, ducking behind a containment train. Several large containers were being hoisted by groups of Egg Pawns, being carried to a transport ship docked nearby. Salamon's ears twitched, soon getting the camera out of his bag and peeking over the train onto the area.

"Whatcha see up there?" Aaron whisper-growled.

"Lookin' like a lot of clunkers..." Salamon responded, snapping a few pictures. "And they're loading up on supplies it looks like... aha!"

"What?" Aaron asked.

"Looks like Amy's suspicions were right!" Salamon said, getting more pictures. "They're loading up cages of Mobians in there!"

"Well, at least we got som-" was all that Aaron said before he was cut off.

"H-HOLY SHIT!" Salamon said, a shocked look on his face. "I-IS THAT SHADOW?!"

"Shut up!" Aaron growled through gritted teeth. "You'll give us away if you shout like that you dumbass!"

"No, seriously!" Salamon said, getting down, back to Aaron. "Shadow's turned traitor! He's working with Eggman now!"

"Show me the pic." Aaron said. "I'll believe that shit when I see it."

"Gimme a sec." Salamon said, starting to pull up the pic on his camera. Though they wouldn't be there for long as an Egg Pawn soon rounded the corner, seeing the two.

"Shit!" Aaron said, blasting the thing with fire. "We gotta hide. Now."

"Wait, why?" Salamon said as Aaron grabbed him, running away from a volley of Egg Pawn fire.

"Well unless you wanna become swiss cheese, we need to find a hiding spot!" Aaron growled, soon rounding a corner into a crate storage area. "In here!"

"Gyaaack!" Salamon said, soon being pulled around the corner as the Egg PAwns stormed past. "W-well now what?!"

"Help me get one of these crates open." Aaron said, trying to pull one open. "We'll hide in here until the area clears out." Salamon merely nodded as he helped the lion pull open the crate open before the two hid inside with the extra robot parts and the crate closed back up.

"Ooof!" Salamon groaned. "Owww..."

"Can it. It's the best hiding place we got." Aaron responded, before his ears twitched. "Keep quiet, someone's coming."

Both figures remained silent as the metal footsteps grew closer, soon stopping in front of the crate. Both the rookies froze as they felt the crate being lifted up, carried off somewhere before being dropped again. Salamon almost yelped in pain if Aaron didn't quickly cover his mouth.

"Is that the last one?" A robotic voice said, probably an Egg Pawn.

"Yep, that's the last one." Another Egg Pawn said. "Let's get the ship moving."

There was the sound of a creaking metal hatch sealing up before a rumbling occurred.

"Wh-what's happening?" Salamon asked.

"Looks like our recon mission just got a whole lot harder..." Aaron groaned as the ship took off out of Mobian atmosphere...

* * *

 _ **With the stakes risen highly, now our two rookies are whisked off to one of their hardest tasks yet. And with Tails and Carol now finding past versions of Sonic and Sash, as well as rebooting Omega, things may finally be looking up for them. But what awaits in store for Aaron and Salamon? Find out next time in Chapter 3: "Impromptu Rescue Mission"...**_


	4. Chapter 3: Impromptu Rescue Mission

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3:  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1_**

 _Chapter 3: Impromptu Rescue Mission_

* * *

 _Space, between planets..._

"..."

"...what."

"What do you mean, 'what?'" Aaron retorted to the basset husky opposite of him. "This is your fault we're now on a trip to who-knows-where."

"How the hell is it my fault?!" Salamon growled back. " _You're_ the one who had the bright idea to hide in here in the first place!"

"Well, _you're the one_ who decided to yell when they evidently saw Shadow being a traitor!" Aaron growled.

"I'm not lying!" Salamon barked.

"Prove it!"

" _SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!_ " The comm unit yelled, shocking the both of them. "Where are you two?! Why is the radar showing you two heading out into space?!"

"Well..." Salamon started.

* * *

 _Mobian Resistance HQ..._

"Wh-WHAT?!" Amy gasped at the comm unit. "Why are you two on an Eggman cargo ship heading out into deep space?!" Indeed, the radar showing up on the giant screen of the universe showed a blip leaving Avalice and Mobius.

"Well, the short story is, we got spotted and we hid in a storage crate, and now it got loaded into a ship." Aaron answered through the comm unit. "You can thank bark-for-breath for nearly getting us caught."

"You told us to hide in here in the first place!" Salamon argued back.

"Would you two stop?!" Knuckles yelled, slamming his fist onto the console, denting the metal in the process. "Any more bickering out of either of you and I'll crack your skulls together when you get back here alive! Understood?!"

"Knuckles!" Amy yelled, before light whimpering came from the comm unit. "Now look what you did! You made them scared of you!"

"J-just stop the yelling..." Salamon merely whimpered through the comm unit.

Amy sighed. "Look, just once you get there, find an escape pod or another drop ship and get yourselves back here safely." She spoke.

"Understood." Aaron spoke, then cutting the comm unit. Amy looked to Knuckles, clearly unhappy.

"What the hell was that Knuckles?!" Amy growled. "Now you've made Salamon scared of us! You realize how much you've now traumatized the poor kid?"

"Look, it was the only way to get him to shut up at that point. Otherwise nearly every single Egg Pawn would've been on their tails." Knuckles answered. "And then we'd be out two rookies and no information on Eggman's plans!"

"Knucky, that doesn't excuse you from scaring our recruits shitless." Rouge said. "Now, how about you go check on that rock of yours?"

"Fine..." Knuckles grumbled, heading towards the Master Emerald...

* * *

 _Death Egg Hangar, Outer Space..._

"Alright! Bring it in closer!" An Egg Pawn signaled as the massive cargo ship pulled into the hangar of the orbital space station, keeping the ship on track. "Keep 'er going, that's it!"

"Am I in landing position?" The Egg Pawn from the cockpit signaled.

"A little to the left..." The Egg Pawn, motioning to the left, the ship starting to move to the left. "A little more... little more... okay, touch down!" The ship then cut the engines, the entire ship landing on top of the Egg Pawn.

"Right there?" The Egg Pawn in the cockpit asked.

The crushed Egg Pawn under the ship merely gave a thumbs up.

"Alright!" The pilot Egg Pawn responded. "Crew, let's get those crates unloaded! Dr. Robotnik will be pleased with this final shipment!" Egg Pawns of varying calibers soon went to work, unloading the ship of its storage crates and loading them at the side of the hangar. "And be careful with those warheads! They're hair-trigger, so any of them falling could set them all off!"

"Roger that Serial-437!" Another Egg Pawn spoke. "We'll have these shipments unloaded before you'll know it!"

"You better." Another voice said before five other robots came out of an opposing hallway. "We've heard the crash up here. What the hell is going on here?"

"N-nothing Metal Sonic!" An Egg Pawn spoke. "We're just unloading our final shipment! Everything should be ready for quashing the Resistance."

"Good." Metal Sonic spoke. "Robotnik wants no more delays, understood?"

"Yes sir hedgehog sir!" The Egg Pawn replied, soon the rest of them scrambling to their positions. Metal Sonic then turned to the other four.

"Now, it's time we spread out to start our little 'demotivation' plan." Metal Sonic spoke. "Do each of us have our respective prototypes the doctor has created?"

The others nodded, holding out small magenta stones. "Good." Metal Sonic said. "Now, we can have a bit of 'fun' while we do this. Metal Sash, you're with me for Station Square's Red Gate Bridge. Metal Tails and Metal Carol, terrorize Pheonix Highway in Shang Mu and drive Resistance members off the sides of the bridge. Metal Milla, tear up Empire City. Drive the Mobians out of there for roboticizations."

"Roger." Metal Sash spoke.

"On it." Metal Tails and Metal Carol said in unison.

"Will do." Metal Milla said, letting out a synthisized bark.

"Good. Now move out." Metal Sonic spoke, the five heading back into the hallway before one of the crates wiggled a bit, Aaron and Salamon collapsing out the side and hitting the floor hard.

"Owwww..." Salamon moaned, holding his head. "That hurt..."

"Those damn clunkers couldn't handle the box better?" Aaron growled. "Where are we?"

Salamon looked up, looking around at the massive technological hangar around them. Cyan lights were coursing all across the sides of the hangar, and several technical flashing lights were around the walls of the hangars, along with several massive ships throught the area. "Looks like some sort of hangar... and by what Amy told us, we're out in space."

"Joy..." Aaron growled.

"Well, look on the bright side!" Salamon said. "We've got that info of where there's going to be attacks, once we get back we can report that to the group!"

"That's true." Aaron spoke. "Alright, how about this; you sneak around and get more recon photos of this place, I'll cause a distraction in another sector of the station to lure 'em away."

"You sure about that?" Salamon asked. "Last thing we need is you getting too many bots to handle."

"Kid, I'll be fine." Aaron said. "Just get those recon photos."

Salamon nodded, then the two split off to do their seperate jobs...

* * *

 _Egg Prison, several miles away from the Death Egg..._

The basset slunk against the wall of her cell, her fur dirty and unkempt, her once vibrant orange hair now dull and matted, her bracelets lost luster as her wrists and ankles were bound together with tight steel cuffs emitting an inhibiting signal, preventing her from using her powers. Her clothing was ripped, the fur under her eyes show she had been heavily crying, as electrical burns and red marks littered her body, looking a little bit thinner than normal from a lack of normal timed meals. Her hopes of ever getting out had been completely shattered after the first two months of the torture and pain, and now she had been completely broken, swimming in her own turmoil and rage.

The doors to her cell opened up, the basset barely looked up seeing who her two 'escorts' were today; one being the short white-skinned Zeti with lavender hair and lips and short horns, holding a cyan rose, Zor, while the other was the lanky pink-skinned Zeti with a purple mohawk and janky horns with spiked bracelets, Zazz.

"Alright runt, get up!" Zazz said, forcefully grabbing Milla and yanking up to her feet. "Consider yerself lucky! The doc is wanting a personal meeting with ya."

"Tell that fat bastard I'd rather die than talk to him." She growled, not wanting any part of the current situation.

"That's not until after the meeting." Zor sighed. "Either way, it's gonna be a lose/lose situation for you, so why not give up and tell us where your little friends are?"

"No." Milla bluntly growled.

"It's your funeral..." Zor spoke, Zazz dragging the basset along towards the exit to the prison area. Though soon a blast rocked the place, the entire prison shaking ever so much as the two Zeti became distracted.

"What the hell was that?" Zazz said, releasing his grip on Milla. "We under attack?!"

"Seems like it..." Zor commented. "Eh, I always had a feeling I'd go out like this..."

"Would you shut your traAAAAAACUUUHH-" was all Zazz got to say before he was attacked from behind, the basset having her light cuffs held harsh against his neck, intending to choke him out.

"Get off of him!" Zor said, making a move for Zazz, but Milla managed to make the Zeti kick, knocking Zor backwards over the railing of the prison walkways, him falling to a lower level. Zazz kept struggling, trying to throw the basset off of him, but the more he struggled, the more air he lost before he fell unconscious, hitting the floor unmoving. Milla moved quickly, tapping her cuffs to the small device on the unconscious Zeti's hip, deactivating the cuffs entirely, giving her free movement of her arms and legs. She flexed herself a bit before summoning several Phantom Cubes and Spheres, smirking.

"Perfect." Milla said. "But now's not the time for a fight. I need to flee. First though..." She made a break for the main prison control, throwing the main gate switch as all the cells opened. "They'll not be able to follow me in this confusion, and hopefully everyone will head for escape pods and get out of here..." She then fled as the several hundreds of Mobians fled in the confusion...

Of course, Zavok had watched the entire thing, and just grew angry. A small blue round Zeti and an alluring green Zeti with darker green hair and a single horn were on either side of him.

"Those idiots." Zavok growled turning away from the monitor. "I'm going to get the Death Queen fired up. Zeena, you head for that Shuigang and Master Zik, head for that Lagoon on that second planet."

"And the prisoners?" Zeena asked.

"Their lives are insignificant." Zavok said, leaving the room.

* * *

Milla was panting hard, the ceiling growing lower as she fled the prison hall, soon her diving out of the way as the ceiling came down right behind her. She scrambled to her feet and kept running, the doors slamming shut behind her as she was soon reaching the exit to the outside area. Her panic soon started to rise as she saw the only way forward was a rail, and she was barefoot. Not wanting to tear her feet up, she grabbed two panels and slipped them onto her feet, the bottoms of them now attaching to the metal and shaping to her feet as she lept to the rail. Now out in space, she was surprised she was able to breathe out there; was it because of the overlapping atmospheres, or was it because of her element mastery? She didn't question it as she grinded along the rail, soon seeing the massive orbital station ahead of her.

"So, the doctor built another Death Egg..." Milla muttered to herself, soon jumping to another rail. "How he built it so quickly I have no clue, but I won't allow it to remain intact for long." She soon sped up, increasing her speed grinding on the rail as several Egg Chasers flew past. Milla flipped away from the lasers as soon she flipped into another cell block area.

"I just need to find a dropship somewhere..." Milla muttered to herself as she threw the cell switch for this block...

* * *

 _Death Egg, Weapons Bay..._

The white and blue husky basset kept snapping pictures of the gigantic sentinels within the area of the Death Egg. "Jeez... he spared no expense. There's so many of these things..."

At that moment a small sound of a siren went off before the basset dodged out of the way of the shot that hit the ground. With quick reflexes, he pulled a weapon of some sort out of his bag before slashing the electrical whip at the instigators, two Buzzbombers as they dropped out of the air, hitting the ground. Salamon then rushed over and checked the collapsed Buzzbombers, checking to see if they were completely off; he was in luck. Quickly Salamon stuffed the two models into his backpack, before returning to taking more surveillance pictures.

"Alright, last one!" Salmon said, snapping the picture. "Now, to regroup and meet back up wi-OOOF!" He yipped, crashing into another figure as both were knocked to the ground. "Owww..."

"Oooff..." The other basset spoke, before looking to the figure she knocked down. "Hey, you alright?"

"H-huh?" Salamon said, before looking at the figure helping him up. "I-I think so. "Who are you?"

"Milla. No time to explain, we need to go!" The other basset spoke, grabbing Salamon's wrist. "Let's g-"

" _You two aren't going anywhere._ " A menacing voice said from behind them, both the dogs looking back to see the familiar large red figure of Zavok.

"What do _you_ want?!" Milla growled, stepping in front of Salamon.

"Simple, really." Zavok spoke. "Your little renegade group is trying to pull a prison break; which by the way, isn't worth the time or effort to stop with how much hassle it's caused."

Milla clenched her teeth, Phantom Blocks forming in her hands. "You're not stopping me from escaping this prison."

"That is what you think." Zavok growled, before a yipe came from behind Milla. The basset looked behind her to see the other basset being held by a massive robotic claw.

"!" Milla gasped to herself as soon the floor around them disappeared except for a hexagonal shaped platform made up of tiny hexagons on it as well, a pit into space below their feet. The platform dropped lower to the point where the outside was visible; a massive war between Egg Fleet airships and G.U.N. airships was going on, with the Egg Fleet ever so ahead in ship destruction.

"This will be your burial ground." Zavok growled. "In space, where no one will be able to hear you scream or cry for help."

Milla growled. "I'm not scared of you, you big lug."

Zavok merely darkly chuckled. "But you should be." He said, leaping backwards off the platform... and soon he'd be rising back up on a massive hornet robot, its four yellow wings and six thruster engines running at full power as its crimson-red optics glared down Milla. The prideful red Zeti stood atop the mech, staring down at the basset... before he smashed his fists together twice, then leaned forwards, roaring loudly at the basset. Milla steeled her nerves from the roar, and then the fight began proper.

Zavok merely snapped his clawed fingers before three separate Buzzbombers spawned directly near the platform, soon making a literal beeline for Milla. The basset tensed up before attacking with her Phantom Spheres, blasting each Buzzbomber to shreds. The gigantic hornet then aimed its legs straight at Milla before firing a singing laser beam directly at her location. Milla ducked out of the way of the attack and kept moving; the tracking was too slow to keep up with her.

"Why are you toying with me?" Zavok growled. "Trying to find a bit of fun in all of this?"

"There's no fun when it comes to you." Milla shot back, throwing a Phantom Sphere straight at the hornet's abdomen, causing the entire mech to shake a bit.

"Impudent runt!" Zavok roared, the mech rising high above her, stinger aimed straight down. " _I am going to savor watching you suffer!_ " Milla's nerves steeled as the hornet dropped abdomen first straight down, planning to impale Milla on it's stinger. The basset lept back and up, out of the range of the shockwave it caused on the platform before colliding with Zavok directly, causing him to lose his footing. The basset would then growl angrily, throwing several punches and kicks right onto Zavok's body before throwing in a Super Shield Burst for good measure. The resulting kickback threw Milla back onto the platform as the massive hornet mech raised back into the air.

"You're not making this _easy_ are you?" Zavok growled as more Buzzbombers spawned within the area, chasing Milla. "No matter. Crushing you will be all the more satisfying!" The massive hornet robot would then back away from the arena and rush it's stinger straight at the basset hound in a charge parallel to the arena. Milla went wide-eyed and dodged out of the way to the side, narrowly avoiding the stinger charge. Milla would tense up as the hornet would prepare for another charge, however, when it did, the basset lept up, Phantom Block in hand before she performed another Super Shield Burst straight at Zavok, knocking him off his guard as the hornet mech went by again.

Zavok growled angrily, soon having the hornet mech aim its lasers straight at Milla again. "I've had enough of you! _Just lie down, and die!_ " Zavok roared as the hornet mech fired its lasers again, this time several times powerful than the last blast. Milla stomped and brought up scrap metal from the ground, forming a shield that deflected the laser off in several directions.

"I don't know if you've gotten the memo..." Milla growled, the metal starting to bend as the lasers started to angle more towards Zavok. " _But this dog has new tricks!_ " The metal would now bend towards the mech, striking its main engine core and igniting it, causing it to explode entirely, throwing Zavok off it and onto the platform. The prideful Zeti roared loudly before inhaling and spweing a hot stream of flames from his mouth at the basset. Milla counteracted by dodgerolling out of the way before slamming her fist right into the Zeti's stomach. Zavok recoiled in pain before trading fisticuffs with the basset, both their fists creating minature shockwaves through their bodies as they collided, but Milla soon got the upper hand as she swept Zavok's legs out from under him, causing him to crash down to the ground. Milla then lept up, both her hands cloaked in the jade Phantom Energy as she slammed her fists straight into Zavok's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Uuuurghh..." Zavok moaned as Milla got off him. The basset remained tense as she soon heard an odd pulsating sound, soon seeing the prideful Zeti flicker a bit as he slowly faded out of existence...

"What... what was that?" Milla muttered to herself. "And why did that energy feel so... familiar?"

"Hey!" A voice called, Milla looking up to see Salamon still trapped in the claw. "You alright Milla?"

"I'm fine!" Milla spoke. "What about you?"

"Don't worry! I'll be outta this thing no problem!" Salamon said, soon squirming before he slid out of the claw. With quick reaction he swung his lightning whip, the end attaching to an exposed node on the clawed arm as the electric whip extended like a bungee cord. "Grab my hand!" Salamon yelled, extending his hand. Milla would nod and jump up, grabbing Salamon's hand before slingshotting back upwards into the weapons bay, the floor closing after the two passed it, both hounds landing on their feet.

"Thanks for the save." Milla spoke. "You here to rescue me?"

"Well, I'm here on accident before, but I guess I am now." Salamon spoke. "Let me contact my teammate, then we can make a break back for the hangar."

Milla nodded, before Salamon activated his comm unit. "Aaron, got the pics, you there?"

"A little tied up at the moment!" Aaron said among the sounds of flames and metal scraping. "Where the hell are you?!"

"At the weapons bay, meet me at the hangar, I can hijack us a ship outta here!" Salamon said.

"Alright, just hurry!" Aaron responded. "I dunno how many more of these damn things I can hold off longer!"

"Got it." Salamon said, cutting the transmission. "Alright, let's go."

"You know how to fly a spaceship?" Milla asked.

"Can't be that much harder than my original project I was working on!" Salamon said, the two making a break for the hangar. "Let's go!"

* * *

The sounds of pounding scrap metal and loud sirens came from the hangar as the lion kept shredding the oncoming Egg Pawns. Soon Salamon and Milla burst through another hallway, a slew of shots firing on them as they rushed for a ship.

"Aaron! We gotta bail!" The basset-husky yelled as he and Milla ran up the ramp to the loading ship.

"Hold on a sec!" Aaron said, before diving into the diving ramp of the ship as it went up. The Egg Pawns soon started firing on the hull of the ship, but their shots merely plinked off the steel plating as the ship turned a bit. A hatch opened up and a small black orb came out of the hatch, rolling over to the munitions crates and stopping. The Egg Pawns kept firing on the ship with the escaping trio as it turned and blasted out of the hangar, the black orb soon starting to flash as the orb exploded, setting off the warheads as the series of explosions wracked the hangar entirely and damaged the massive Death Egg.

"Main shields set to protect the rear." Salamon panted. "You alright Aaron?"

"I told you I could handle myself." Aaron growled, marred with bruises. "This ain't shit to me."

Salamon would roll his eyes, setting the ship in auto pilot. "Alright, let me get a teleporter pad established with the Resistance HQ base." He said, getting up and heading back from the cockpit.

"Why a teleporter?" Aaron asked.

"Chances are they're gonna be looking for this ship since we escaped." Salamon said, hooking up the teleporter pad with the coordinates for the Resistance base. "We gotta bail from this thing and leave it for dead."

"Smart thinking." Milla spoke. "But won't they be able to track our coordinates for that pad?"

"I'll be taking double precautions." Salamon spoke, the pad firing up. "You two go on ahead first, I'll take care of the ship so they can't follow our trail."

Milla nodded, before heading through the teleporter, Aaron right after her. Salmon then rushed for the cockpit, redirecting the ship to aim straight for the Egg Fleet flagship. "Alright, target locked, let's see... let's see... aha! Light speed jump!" Salamon said, modifying the controls. "Set the jump for one minute... and now..." Salamon activated it, setting the timer to start as he rushed back to the pad. "Now, set the teleoprt memory to wipe after this next teleport... and done!" Salamon said, hopping onto the teleport pad as he warped out of the ship, the memory of the teleport pad wiping clean. Then the lightspeed jump kicked in, the ship blasting off... right into the Egg Fleet's flaghip control tower. The ship exploded and it collapsed, falling through the atmosphere to Mobius...

* * *

 _Mobius Resistance HQ, Station Square_

The teleport pad soon whirred to life, startling the entire group inside the room. "Hey..." Amy asked. "Did the other rookies find another teleport pad?"

"If they found it on wherever Eggman base they got it, we're screwed." Knuckles bluntly spoke. "There's no way we'd be able to stop Eggman robots flooding our base."

"I'm picking up the coordinates of the teleport pad..." Gemerl spoke, his eyes glowing a bit. "It appears to be coming from an Eggman serial number cargo ship."

"Meaning either they put the coordinates in on accident, or they're looking to raid us!" Amy said, gripping her hammer. "Everyone look alive, we might have a Badnik invasion on our hands!"

Everyone in the base crowded around the teleported, ready for a brawl against Badniks... but then were utterly shocked when Milla came out of the teleported face-first!

"Milla?!" Amy cried, helping the basset up. "Y-you're alive?!"

"N-never been better..." Milla spoke, coughing a bit. "Is everyone here alright?"

"We thought you were dead!" Cream spoke in a worried tone. "We thought you ended up like Sonic and Sash..."

Milla merely sadly smiled. "You think imprisonment is gonna keep me down?" She spoke softly as Aaron came through the teleport.

"Let's get you healed up." Rouge spoke, escorting Milla out of the area to a med room as Salamon came through the teleporter as well before it shut down.

"Phew! Made it." Salamon spoke. "Eheh... sorry about the mission guys..."

"You had us worried sick!" Amy spoke. "We thought you and Aaron were gonna get captured!"

"Well, Aaron kept the robots distracted." Salamon said, getting out his camera. "And I've got a _ton_ of extra surveilance pics for what Eggman's plans are with his weapon systems!"

"Well well, you kept the mission objective and even managed to rescue Milla in the process!" Knuckles said, setting an arm on Salamon's shoulder. "Kid, you and Aaron are showing yourselves to be true freedom fighters! Keep up that morale!"

Salamon nodded, handing the camera to Amy. "There'll be a ton of good stuff on there. Now if you guys will excuse me, I've got a new project to work on." He said, walking over to his workbench and dumping the two Buzzbomber models onto it.

"You stole Buzzbombers?" Amy asked. "Why?"

"I figured we could get some use out of them." Salamon said, starting to open up the single-eyed one. "...huh?"

"What's up?"

"There's nothing in here!" Salamon said. "This Badnik's hollow!"

"What?" Amy asked, confused, before the strange pulsing sound started again as the badnik flickered a bit before disintegrating in a red cloud. "...what in the world?"

"That... that's not normal..." Salamon said, soon opening the other Buzzbomber. "This one's perfectly fine though..."

"Might need to look into this." Amy spoke, returning to the computer. "I'll run your recon pics to the Avalican base and see what they have to say."

Salamon nodded, before returning work on the Buzzbomber...

* * *

 _ **A saved hound and a lighter note, the group is starting to gain its foothold against the Eggman Empire ever so slightly. However, the battle is only just beginning for this war. With Salamon and Aaron now having saved the group's oracle, they lie in wait for their next part of the plan. What is that plan? Tune in next time for Chapter 4: 'Espionage on Arsenal Pyramid' to find out...**_


	5. Chapter 4: Espionage at Arsenal Pyramid

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3:  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1_**

 _Chapter 4: Espionage at Arsenal Pyramid_

* * *

It had been a few hours since Milla's rescue from the Death Egg, sunset now starting to befall the islands as the group silently worked away at their next plans for an assault on the Eggman Empire. Amy had soon turned on a radio soon to hear about how Eggman's propaganda had started spreading their sudden rescue mission as.

"In other news today," A female robotic voice spoke. "In what Mobians and Avalicians are describing as an act of Eggo-Terrorism there was a break-in at the esteemed Robotnik's Death Egg today, with several Egg Pawns destroyed in the blast, along with a rogue kamikaze ship into Robotnik's personal flagship of his fleet and cost the ruler an important space battle against the Resistance scum's allies of G.U.N.. With this devastating attack and morale crippling upon the entire empire in this terror act, the military is stepping up their arms productions on South Island and Westside Island, with plans to launch them on all remaining Resistance locations on Mobius and Avalice. We'll have more updates on this as the day goes on. Coming on next hour; Robotnik's plans to level the Mystic Jungle for his new casino!"

Amy then switched off the radio, sighing. "Well, don't know what else I was expecting..." She muttered before turning to the rest of the group. "If I could have everyone's attention here?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Aaron asked, approaching the center table.

"Well, we've gotten updates thanks to Eggman's little radio show." Amy spoke. "Looks like his armaments productions are increasing tenfold since Milla's breakout. We're gonna need to intervene that."

"Alright, how?" Rouge asks.

"Well, there's something I've managed to bring up." Amy said, bring up satellite maps of South Island and Westside Island. "We've managed to bring out the two separate locations of where we think Eggman's arms factories are; his warhead and bomb production is happening here on South Island..." She spoke, zooming in on the southwestern part of Green Hill Zone. "...right in this section of Green Hill. Now, obviously there needs to be a plan to deal with this; last thing we need is one of our operatives setting off a warhead and then we're out an ally because that section of Green Hill's now-desert is a gigantic hole in the ground."

"Well... we could always send a spy in." Knuckles said.

"You are _not_ sending me in there." Rouge said. "I'm not risking an exploding base just for recon information."

"Well don't worry Rouge, there's less risk of death when I'm planning on sending you." Amy spoke, bringing up the map of Westside Island. "Armaments will most likely mean more Badniks. And on Westside Island, there's only one place any of us know of where they'd be produced." She added, bringing up the location on Westside Island, coated out in green metal and large brass gears along with steam pipes. "Chances are Eggman's gonna be producing his elite models of Badniks here. We need info of what Badniks could potentially be out there, and then get this place destroyed lickety-split."

"Well, at least some Badnik recon will do me some good." Rouge spoke, winking. "But then comes in the problem of what are we doing for Green Hill?"

"I..." Salamon started, before everyone turned to look to him. "I might have a viable solution for that."

"Explain." Knuckles spoke. "Explain how you're gonna get someone in there to take down that thing without them dying."

"Well..." Salamon spoke, taking out a RC controller. "Simple. We don't send out anyone living."

"What are you..." Knuckles spoke before the Buzzbomber from the workbench flew in next to Salamon, its wings beating as if it were happy.

"Guys, meet Saffron." Salamon spoke. "Nabbed this from back on the Death Egg, and I figured that other Badniks would suspect a thing if its a Badnik doing our recon work!"

"Salamon, that's perfect!" Amy spoke. "Good thinking."

"Aw jeesh, thanks." Salamon said, rubbing the back of his head, blushing.

"Alright, and one last thing." Amy said, turning back to the group. "Milla, how well are you feeling?"

Milla merely nodded. "I'll be fine. Whatcha need me for?"

"You, Aaron, and Silver head out for the Mystic Jungle, and get anyone that might be in there out of there." Amy spoke, zooming in on the Mystic Jungle on South Island. "We want to try to limit casualties in this entire situation."

Aaron nodded. "No problem. I'll get anyone out of there, and smash up any robots that try to get in my way."

"Milla can help me lift anyone out of dangerous situations." Silver said. "When do we head out?"

"As soon as possible." Amy spoke. "The sooner the crisis can be avoided the better."

"Will do." Milla spoke as she headed out, Silver and Aaron following as the teleporter pad fired up in the corner. "Rouge, coordinates set for Westside Island."

"Sure thing." The bat said, stepping on. "See you later." She said, warping away to Westside Island.

"You ready for this Saffron?" Salmon asked the Buzzbomber as it nodded its head happily. "Alright! Get out there and storm that arms base!" The Buzzbomber did a happy flip before heading out through a sewer tube to the outside...

* * *

 _Arsenal Pyramid, Green Hill..._

Within the sands of the now deserted Green Hill Zone, a massive metal pyramid stood within one of the biggest quicksand pits now there, seemingly decked out with spires with cyan lights on them along with several odd statues sticking out of the sand. Metal piping and scaffolding were choking out the entirety of the area, most flora completely destroyed and choked out from the industrialization. Several black-armored figures with cyan markings were seen patrolling the area, as well as several orange robots similar to Gemerl, along with several dozens of Badnik varieties. Soon enough the Buzzbomber Salamon sent out peaked over the top of the rocky cliffs, catching visual of the pyramid.

"Wow..." Salmon spoke as observed through the Buzzbomber's optics. "Look at the size of that thing..."

"It's huge..." Amy breathed. "Alright, how's Saffron gonna get in there?"

"Looks like there's a couple of maintenance vents for Buzzbombers on the east side..." Salamon said, Saffron soon flying over the area and the dark-armored figures. "Might be able to sneak in Saffron from there."

"There's something not right though." Amy spoke, indicating to the dark armored figures. "Can you get some snapshots of those?"

"Sure, gimme a sec." Salamon spoke, Saffron's eyes flashing to capture snapshots of the armored figures as well as the orange robots. "Guessing you're gonna cross-reference these?"

"Both myself and Neige are going to do so." Amy spoke, sending the uplinks to the Avalician Resistance HQ. "Whoever these are, it can't spell good news for us."

Salamon nodded, before snapping a couple more pics and having Saffron move on towards the pyramid. The Buzzbomber then slotted in through one of the maintenance vents and soon appeared inside the pyramid, dim blue lighting, large gears, and several gigantic warheads being carted along massive conveyor belts, descending deeper and deeper into the rock and earth...

"Holy..." Amy muttered. "This is a deep arms factory..."

"How could Eggman get something like this constructed in a matter of months?" Salamon asked, guiding Saffron inbetween the massive gears. "The logistical and constructional properties of it seem next to impossible..." Saffron soon lowered down deeper into the depths of the arms factory, passing by multiple walkways crawling with Badniks, the dark armored figures, and the unknown robots.

"Hey," Amy stopped Salamon, indicating to one of the walkways, seeing what appeared to be several dark armored figures. One of them would be much more feminine in appearence and had two back horn-like parts in its helmet and the more pinkish-purple accents in the armor. "That looks like a higher up talking to its grunts. Does Saffron have recording capabilities?"

"Yeah." Salamon responded. "But how's Saffron gonna act like so it's not obvious she's a spy bee?"

"Hmmmm..." Amy thought, before noticing the other Buzzbombers around. "Say... what else does Saffron have installed?"

"Well, the standard rail detonator cannon..." Salamon said. "Looks like there's also a blowtorch option..."

"Perfect." Amy spoke. "Have it pose as a worker bot."

"...that's actually a really good idea." Salamon spoke, switching Saffron's weapon out for the blowtorch module, soon going to work on the wall just under the walkway...

"I want no more excuses, understood?" A female voice from the pinkish-purple dark armor figure said. "You are all trying Ix's patience with this bullshit, so I will only state this once; you find the Master Emerald. The doctor will handle the regular Emeralds. I don't care what it takes, I don't care how much is exhausted, just do it so we can return fully. That hound gave us a chance to come back to begin with, so we are making sure we do. Understood?"

"Yes Procurator!" The rest of the dark armored figures responded before taking off across the walkway the other way. The female one just merely sighed ad shook her head, heading off in the other direction.

"I swear to god, these idiots are going to get the Nocturous clan killed at this rate..." She growled, storming off in the other direction for an exit, before Saffron rose up from below.

"Sounds like we got some good info." Salamon spoke. "Now we know who those Marauders that wanted the Master Emerald from Knuckles are."

"Let me send this extra info to Neige. Cross-reference everything to do with the 'Nocturnous'." Amy spoke, typing away at the main computer. "Keep investigating while I do this." Salamon nodded, piloting Saffron down deeper into the pyramid arms factory. The deeper and deeper it went, the more and more the rocky walls started to show and the less mechanical influence there was. However, right in the middle of the entire pit was a massive missile, plastered with the Eggman Empire logo.

"Cripes wouldja look at the size of that thing!" Salamon spoke.

"He's probably reserving that for us." Amy spoke. "Get some pics of that one too. We're gonna need a proper way to disable that one."

Salamon nodded, before a tomato slice fell on Saffron's head, blocking one of it's optics.

"The hell? Where did my favorite fruit suddenly come from?" Salamon said, Saffron looking up at the walkway above him, what looked like a gigantic yellow blob strolling across it with a massive sandwich. "The heck is that thing?" He said, Saffron moving up to see the fat lumbering figure walking away from it.

"That's one of the Zeti." Amy spoke. "Zomom I believe. No surprise considering the rest of them appear to be in this world according to Milla's account of her fight with Zavok on the Death Egg."

"What's one doing here though?" Salamon asked.

"I doubt we'll get any information out of him though." Amy spoke. "Just keep scanning for a strategy."

Salamon nodded, Saffron's optics soon scanning around the rock walls before turning around... to see the derpy-eyed face of the fat yellow Zeti right in front of the bee. Salamon jumped back in shock as he had not been expecting the sudden jumpscare Zeti.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that." Zomom said, picking the tomato slice off the Buzzbomber and eating it. "Think I had too much dressing on my sandwich and it just kinda slipped out."

Saffron merely buzzed.

"Aw it's okay." Zomom spoke, patting the metallic bee. "No hard feelings here either." Something then buzzed from behind him and he pulled out a pocketwatch. "Oh shoot! I'm late for that meeting with Dr. Robotnik and that other guy!" He said, putting the pocketwatch away before run-plodding across the walkway. "I don't wanna miss this event!"

"Weirdo..." Salamon muttered to himself, before Saffron started scanning the walls again, and a lightbulb went off. "Amy, you mentioned before now there's gigantic sandworms crawling around Green Hill?"

"Yeah?" Amy asked.

"I might have an idea on how to take this place down 'safely'." Salamon spoke. "There's a study I once read about how worms and the like are attracted to vibrations. If we can find some way to set up something to make the under areas here vibrate..."

"...we could make the entire base shake apart?" Amy spoke.

"And attract those burrowing sandworms straight to it taking it down!" Salamon said, piloting Saffron upwards now. "It'll be perfect, and the best part is we won't have to worry about casualites on our end!"

"Alright." Amy spoke. "Let's get Saffron back to base so we can formulate a plan."

Salamon nodded. "Roger." He said, soon piloting Saffron out of the pyramid. "Phew... can't believe our luck."

"I know..." Amy spoke. "Wonder how Rouge is doing..."

* * *

 _Metropolis, Westside Island..._

The foreboding metallic green walls loomed over the area as the seductive spy bat ducked behind a corner to the entryway of the base. There was snow abound out here, and needless to say, it was making her shiver.

"Brrrsh, really should've dressed warmer for this operation..." The bat muttered to herself before keeping still, her ears picking up movement from behind the main hatch. Quietly, she lied in wait as it opened, some Egg Pawns carrying blasters walking out. Keeping her sound to a minimum, she slunk into the main hatch before it closed behind her.

"Alright, in..." Rouge said, before slipping out a small beetle-like drone and attaching it to the upper corner. "Now for bug planting..." She slunk down the main corridor before coming to the main open room. Several machines lined the walls, conveyors going between them with imprisoned animals and several Egg Pawns monitoring the machine processes.

"Hmph, looks like it's in full swing..." She muttered to herself. "The main generator room must be down another hallway..." She soon gripped the wall, climbing above the light sources and sticking to the shadows on the ceiling, carefully making sure to not make a sound...

"Hey, did you hear something?" An Egg Pawn below asked.

Rouge froze, a cold sweat starting to break out. If she got caught, she'd be in a horrible position. One or two badniks at a time she could handle by herself, but twenty plus and counting? She'd get mobbed for sure...

"You sure your audio sensors aren't goin' busted or somethin'?" Another Egg Pawn said. "This place is the most secure Mobian death trap on all of Westside Island! Not even a fly could slip in here without setting off the security cameras!"

"You sure?" The first Egg Pawn said. "I'm pretty sure there's someone in here..."

Rouge kept still, the sweat starting to drip off her as she tried to keep herself silent, shuffling across the ceiling the massive badnik production room, closing in on the door to the next room. Without hesitation, she quickly slipped in before any of the Egg Pawns could notice her.

"Alright..." The bat sighed, keeping to the wall. "Now... where's that generator..." She kept tight to the wall, slipping under security cameras before she got to the inner core of the base, nearing the main generator.

"There we go..." Rouge muttered to herself, starting to approach the generator... before the doors just shut tight behind her. The bat tensed up as she whirled around, her eyes darting across the entire area... before she felt a chill in her spine. Literally.

"It was unwise of you to come here..." A metallic voice said from behind her. Rouge quickly turned around and leaped back, looking dead in the eyes of a green Eggrobo, decked in shinobi gear and a katana strapped to its back, its cold red glaring optics stared the bat down. "And jugding from your ragtag disposition... you're part of the resistance, no?"

"Who, me?" Rouge spoke, feigning innocence.

"Do not try to lie to me." The Eggrobo spoke. "I can already tell from your body language that you are trying to avoid the question."

"...I'm not getting out of this, am I?" Rouge spoke, backing up.

"In sort, no." The Eggrobo spoke, brandishing a fashioned katana, made from a fine Slicer blade, a cold gleam to it. "I, Heavy Shinobi, will be your downfall."

"We'll see about that." Rouge spoke, before Shinobi rushed her with the katana, aiming for a horizontal slice for her abdomen. The bat barely managed to dodge out of the way of the attack, the katana only barely nicking her exposed stomach before she went in for a counterattack with a kick. The Shinobi expected this and soon blocked the attack with its gauntlet forearms, forcing Rouge back. The bat growled to herself before Shinobi brandished an Asteron, flicking it fast and hard like a shuriken straight at her. Roude kicked the Asteron straight up, though her lack of boots meant she didn't go through it undamaged, one of the spikes piercing her skin before it was kicked into the ceiling. The Asteron then exploded, soon sending spikes outwards.

"You fight sloppily." Shinobi commented.

"You shut up." Rouge spoke, charging at Shinobi to throw a smashing kick at him. Shinobi blocked with the gauntlets again before Rouge kicked off the gauntlets, throwing Shinobi back a bit. The Eggrobo then dashed forward straight at Rouge, soon matching hand blocks for every kick Rouge threw at it. Then Shinobi shoved the bat away, soon brandishing the katana again, slashing right onto the bat, Rouge being encased into a block of ice. The bat struggled to try to move in the frozen block, but it wasn't working at all. Shinobi soon walked over, merely observing the frozen bat.

"Hmph. You're all talk, but no action." Heavy Shinobi merely spoke, sliding the block of frozen batsicle to the cornerof the room. "Since you're not going anywhere, I'm going to leave you frozen here while I go to get the higher ups. Emperor Robotnik will be pleased to know we've obtained one of the Resistance's little wretches." With that, Shinobi left the room, leaving Rouge frozen in the block of ice.

"Shoot..." Rouge thought to herself, her eyes darting around the room. "No way out of this... there's gotta be some way to melt this ice..." Her eyes kept darting around the room, looking for something, _anything_ to get the ice melted off her...

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a steam vent occasionally blasting hot air though it; she was in luck! She tried to shift herself inside the frozen cube, but merely squirming herself wouldn't move her at all. She soon tried a forceful jump, the block of ice shifting her over a bit; she had a method of movement. With a couple more jumps soon enough she gotten into position over the steam vent, waiting- and hoping- for that blast of hot air to come up.

"Come on... come on..." Rouge thought to herself, metaphorical sweat running down her forehead as the vent started to rumble a bit. Soon enough a blast of hot steam shot up out through the vent and ice, melting the entire block and soaking the bat through her skin and clothing, her wings held down and out by the waterlogging.

"Euch..." Rouge said. "I am so needing that dryer run back at the base..." She commented to herself before another blast of steam shot up through the vent, when it cleared up showing Rouge's skin super red and her white hair now fluffed up on end. "Nevermind then..." She rushed over to the power generator and threw the switch to the generator, the entire base shutting down and becoming dark... before red lights now bathed the area.

"EMERGENCY ALERT. MAIN POWER HAS BEEN CEASED." The loud intercom blared. "SWITCHING TO AUXILLARY POWER MODE. DEFENSE SHIELDING DISABLED. BADNIK PRODUCTION LINE DISABLED. STEAM VENTILATION DISABLED."

"Well, that takes care of that..." Rouge muttered to herself, before getting into a pouch on her belt, taking out a couple of round explosives with a heart insignia on them. "A couple of thermal detonators oughtta take this thing down for a while..." She then quickly opened up a main panel on the control unit, scattering the explosive charges inside it before shutting the panel, now her eyes darting for her escape route. She saw the vent in the ceiling and quickly leaped up, pulling the covering out before jumping again, hoisting her slender figure into the vent, soon reapplying the vent and starting to crawl through it right as Shinobi burst back into the room with several Egg Pawns behind him.

" _ **WHOMST'VE-**_ " Was all that came out of the Eggrobo's mouth before the thermal detonators went off, exploding the room as it was engulfed in flame, several of the Egg Pawns completely destroyed as Shinobi had shielded himself with an ice shield. When the blast died down, Shinobi had lowered the ice shield to see the damage done, before raising a hand to the side of his head.

"Emperor Robotnik..." Shinobi spoke. "This is Heavy Shinobi of the HBH Squad... we may have a problem..."

* * *

The Buzzbomber soon burst through the pipe, happily buzzing as Salamon rushed over to the bee robot, rubbing its head. "You did awesome out there Saffron..." Salamon spoke, clearly proud that the new Badnik RC program he installed was working well.

"Your friend did very well Mister Salamon!" Cream spoke, looking at the Buzzbomber. "I never thought a Buzzbomber could do so much good for us..." Saffron had apparently liked the complement as it started to nuzzle the rabbot by itself, prompting her to giggle.

"She's starting to take a liking to you it seems." Salamon spoke. "Alright, Saffron, let's see if you need any repairs."

The Buzzbomber nodded, soon following Salamon over to the workbench as Cream soon walked over to the Gizoid and sat down next to him.

"Is everything alright mistress Cream?" Gemerl asked as Cream sat down next to him.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Cream spoke as the hero Chao soon peeked over her shoulder. "You okay Cheese?"

"Chao chao!" The hero Chao replied, nuzzling her shoulder.

"Hmmm..." Gemerl spoke, looking over Cream. "Are you sure? You seem like something is bothering you."

"I'm fine, mister Gemerl..." Cream spoke, turning away from him.

"Chao?" Cheese asked, confused.

"It's fine, Cheese..." Cream said, merely petting the Chao's head.

"...you're worried about your mother, aren't you?" Gemerl spoke.

"..." Cream was silent, not responding to Gemerl.

"...Mistress Cream, please." Gemerl said, scooting closer to the rabbot. "I understand you two had a falling out ever since... the 'incident'."

"...I just want to know if she's still safe." Cream whimpered, nuzzling Gemerl. "I don't want her caught by that bad man..."

"I am sure she is still in the refuge camps set up by the resistance on Avalice..." Gemerl spoke, rubbing the rabbot's back. "She will be safe..."

"G-Gemerl?" Cream asked.

"Yes, mistress Cream?" Gemerl asked.

"C-can I ask you of something?" She asked, hugging the Gizoid.

"I am able to take requests within reason, yes." Gemerl spoke.

"If..." Cream started, tearing up a bit. "If we survive through all this... c-can you arrange a 'talk' between my mother and I?"

"This is my list of possibilities, yes." Gemerl spoke, his eyes lightly flashing a bit. "And it's now scheduled."

"Th-thank you Gemerl..." Cream spoke, softly hugging Gemerl. "I'm so glad Tails was able t-to fix you back then..."

"Same..." Gemerl spoke, lightly petting the rabbot's head. "Though, I do wonder where he is..."

"He hasn't been seen along with Miss Carol for six months..." Cream spoke. "I hope they're okay..."

"I am certain they will be fine, mistress Cream." Gemerl spoke. "Now, how about we rest for the night? I'm certain Amy will need us in the morning for something."

Cream would nod, getting up, the Chao still on her shoulder as Gemerl helped escort her towards the living quarters.

"Gemerl..." Amy spoke, causing the Gizoid to look at her. She sadly smiled and gave a small nod. Gemerl nodded back, before leading Cream off, right as a transmission soon came in to the main monitor.

"That you Rouge?" Amy spoke, starting up the transmission.

"Yes, this is Rouge here..." The bat's voice spoke. "Needless to say, Metropolis Zone is down now. We're not getting Badnik production for a while."

"Well, that's good." Amy spoke. "Anything else to report on?"

"Eggman has some new toys." Rouge spoke. "Had to end up fightng one of them, but it was out of my league. Appeared to be some new kind of Super Eggrobo kind. Crossreference anything in Eggman's database with HBH."

"Will do." Amy spoke.

"Any reports from the others?" Rouge asked.

"None so far. By my predictions Aaron and co. won't be getting to the Mystic Jungle until nightfall." Amy spoke. "Just return to base and rest. You did good work today."

"Thanks." Rouge spoke. "Is Knux okay?"

"He seems to be out of the base often." Amy spoke. "I'll ask him when he comes back."

"Alright. I'll meet you back at the base. Rouge out." The transmission ended. Amy sighed, sitting down next to the console, feeling tired before falling asleep...

* * *

 _ **After two grueling missions investigating Eggman's facilities, the group has learned of some fancy new tidbits of Eggman's allies and plans. However, what of Zomom's apparent meeting he had with Dr. Robotnik? Who was that mysterious procurator? What about Tails, Carol, and their motley crew of leftovers? Find out on Chapter 5: 'To Be Infinite...'**_


	6. Chapter 5: To Be Infinite

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3:  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1_**

 _Chapter 5: To Be Infinite_

* * *

The sun was now just dipping below the horizon on the deserted once-tropical paradise of Green Hill, now its deserted wasteland and crawling with Badniks. A combination of a blue and purple blur were running across the hills before stopping on a spire, showing it to be the young Sonic and Sash. The young Sonic's spines drooped as he looked across the barren Zone...

"Jeez, talk about a wasteland..." The small Sash spoke, looking around the place. " _This_ dump was your home?" The small Sonic would stomp his foot angrily, clearly not liking the dragon's comment.

"Oh don't blow a gasket over it." The dragon spoke, looking at the hedgehog. "We're only out here because of that tin can saying something about picking up a signal out here."

" **WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TIN CAN.** " The booming voice of Omega said as he had soon walked up behind the two. " **SAY THAT TO MY FACE. RIGHT NOW.** "

"Ego much?" The dragon girl growled.

" **I AM NOT CAPABLE OF EGOS.** " Omega spoke. " **I AM ONLY CAPABLE OF KILLING WORTHLESS EGGMAN ROBOT CONSUMER MODELS, PRODUCING MILKSHAKES, AND SARCASM.** "

"Oh really?" The dragon fired back.

" **YES. BECAUSE CLEARLY WE KNOW YOU'RE THE MOST USELESS MEMBER OF THIS SQUAD.** " Omega spoke, before a beep sound and another voice spoke. "Sarcasm self-test complete." Another beep, then Omega spoke again. " **OH GOOD, THAT STILL WORKS.** "

"You guys better not be tearing eachother apart!" Another voice said, before Tails flew Carol in to the group. "We need to work as a team guys! A team!"

" **AS MUCH AS I AM CAPABLE OF MYSELF BEING A WALKING ARSENAL, THE YELLOW FURRY ONE HAS A POINT.** " Omega spoke. " **THANKS TO THE RADAR HE HAS INSTALLED IN ME, THE ENERGY SIGNAL IS COMING UP CLOSE.** "

The small Sonic would jump up and down in place, soon indicating to the large gap in front of the group.

"Little blue has a point." The small Sash spoke. "How are we going to cross this? My Dragon Boost won't be able to reach that far."

"Tailsy's able to lift me over." Carol spoke. "But I don't think Omega's thrusters are powerful enough to carry you two over with him."

" **HA. THAT IS SIMPLE.** " Omega spoke, retracting his hands into the gauntlets of his arms. " **I'LL BLAST THEM OVER.** "

"A-are you insane?!" The small Sash spoke. "You're not seriously going to fire us out of that thing are you?!" It was then she noticed the small Sonic climbing into the arm. "Seriously?!"

" **TRUST ME.** " Omega said, aiming for the far side of the gorge. " **I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING.** " He then fired, blasting the hedgehog to the other side of the gorge, the hedgehog smashing straight into a rock face and falling onto the ledge right under it.

"Little blue!" The small Sash yelled across to the hedgehog. "A-are you alright?!"

The small blue hedgehog would flash a thumbs up from where he was laying down.

" **ALRIGHT, YOU'RE NEXT.** " Omega spoke, grabbing the dragon girl and shoving her into the cannon.

"WAIT WHAT." The small Sash spoke before Omega fired the cannon, sending the dragon girl screaming over to the other side of the gap as she smashed into the wall and fell to the ledge below, her eyes swirling. "Owwwwwwowwowww..."

The small Sonic would rush over to the dragon, checking to see if she was okay as Tails flew Carol over and Omega hovered over himself. "Aaaa...aaaa..."

"Sash, you alright?" Carol asked as she got down from Tails, checking on the young dragoness before she sat up, moaning and holding her head in pain.

"Owwww..." She moaned, before turning and glaring daggers at Omega. "The fuck was that about?! What could have POSSIBLY made you think that shooting me like a living cannonball was the rational solution?!"

" **THERE WERE NO OTHER POSSIBLE ROUTES TO GET YOU OVER HERE WITHOUT RISK OF DEATH.** " Omega stated.

"And smashing my face into a rock cliff _isn't_ a risk of death?!" The small Sash growled, her tendrils twitching violently.

" **WELL, YOU LIVED.** " Omega stated, soon dispensing a milkshake from his torso. " **HAVE THIS A CONSOLATION.** "

The dragon narrowed her eyes, glaring at Omega before taking the milkshake and taking a sip. "Hmph, chocolate. Any other flavors ya got on there?"

" **SADLY ONLY BANANA AND STRAWBERRY.** " Omega spoke. " **G.U.N. DID NOT GIVE ENOUGH FORESIGHT TO GIVE ME MORE OPTIONS FOR FLAVORS.** "

"That's gotta suck..." Tails spoke, before shaking his head. "Either way, we're getting close to that energy signal. Shouldn't be further than a couple meters."

"Looks like we're not the only ones..." Carol said, soon indicating to the Eggmobile flying past the group. "Looks like ol' Eggface is interested in that source too."

" **KILL!** " Omega said, his arms activating the miniguns and started to storm off after Eggman.

"Omega no!" Tails said, dashing in front of the robot. "We can't risk having Eggman know we're out here right now! If that energy source is something powerful, chances are that hound thing is also out here too!"

"Meaning aggression when he's around will equal a one-way ticket to hell..." Carol groaned. "We need to keep low. There's too much risk if we attack while that hound thing is around."

" **VERY WELL.** " Omega said, retracting his miniguns. " **BUT I CALL FIRST DIBS ON KILLING HIM.** "

"Goddamnit Omega..." Tails saighed before the group took off after the fleeting Eggmobile...

* * *

Soon enough it was night as the group of five came up upon the clearing site; several large vehicles were there, as well as the familiar shady hound figure itself, still floating in the air as the Eggmobile, Eggman included, came down.

"Hide." Tails said, the group gathering behind a large rock wall. "Omega, can you record that?"

" **ACTIVATING AUDIO RECORDING AS WE SPEAK.** " Omega said, directing the focus of the voice pickup towards the meeting grounds.

"Alright..." Carol whispered. "Now keep quiet." The others nodded in response before turning their attention to the meeting...

"Gah, where is that bumbling fat oaf?!" Robotnik growled, looking at the time module on his personal craft. "He should have been here by now!"

"S-Sorry boss!" Another voice said as the ground shook a bit from the fat Zeti's plod-running before he tripped and faceplanted, sending a tremor across the ground and nearly caused the hiding group to fall over. "H-had a bit of a snack break before I got here; needed to make sure those Noctos-whatzit guys were handling the missile production well."

"Well while you were doing that, we've had major crisises effecting our Empire from multiple angles!" Robotnik growled. "We've had that damn Basset girl escape from our Death Egg Prison hold along with hundreds of thousands of other Mobians, and then the next thing I know, I'm getting a call from Westside's Metropolis Zone Badnik factory, from one of my own HBH Squad, telling me there was a little Resistance runt that just blew up their main power generator, leaving me without Badniks to be produced!" He gritted his teeth in anger.

" _ **Not to be the... blunt type, but why am I needed here?**_ " The hound spoke. " _ **This seems like nothing more than a massive waste of my time.**_ "

"This is for preventative measures, my ally." Robotnik spoke. "I need you to head out and start destroying those Phantom Ruby prototypes I created that are now scattered across Mobius and Avalice. With this little Resistance now showing it can bear its teeth, I'm not going to take any chances with them getting their hands on them and ruin my plans."

" _ **Then the only other question I have is 'where do I start'?**_ " The hound spoke, crossing his arms, smugly grinning underneath that mask.

"You can start off in the Mystic Jungle." Robotnik spoke. "Once my Valkeen Bombers have incinerated the place and any kind of rebel scum inside that place, you swoop in and destroy those prototypes. And if any-"

" _ **-one gets in my way kill them, yes yes.**_ " The hound stated. " _ **This won't be a problem at all Doctor. They'll be eliminated, as long as I have that wildcat's head.**_ "

A disturbing chill ran down Carol's spine as she heard those words. _'D-does he mean me?'_

"Yes yes, you'll get to kill that little green furball brat once this is all said and done." Robotnik spoke. "Once I can assert my full dominance over the planet, you can kill Carol Tea and Sash Lilac to your heart's content."

Carol nearly had a heart attack when she heard her and Sash's names mentioned in that way, her eyes going wide and freezing in place as the conversation continued.

"Once those prototypes are all destroyed, there will be nothing to stand in the way of my conquest of both these miserable little rocks. The heroes will become has-beens!" Robotnik laughed.

" _ **And all of the insolent subordinates will submit to the power of the Phantom Ruby... anyone who tries to defy this will be... 'removed' to put it lightly.**_ " The hound figure said, before he rose up and took off in a streak of crimson, heading for the Mystic Jungle...

"And whatja need me for boss?" The fat zeti asked, before the ovoid doctor pulled out a blue brilliant-cut gemstone from his Eggmobile.

"You? I need you to hold onto this Chaos Emerald." He spoke, handing the gemstone to the yellow Zeti. "They may be neutralized by that Ruby's power, but I'm not taking any chances by just junking them and leaving them out in the open for those little Resistance pests to get ahold of. Make sure you guard that Emerald with your life, understood?"

"Gotcha boss!" The zeti replied. "I've got the perfect place to hide this thingus so that way they'll never get it!"

"And... where would tha-" Robotnik started before Zomom shoved the Emerald into his mouth and swallowed it whole. "...you know what, forget I asked. Just make sure no one gets that Emerald."

"Right!" The zeti said before run-plodding off and jumping down to another level, causing another tremor that nearly threw the group off their feet... except it did with the small Sonic, causing him to stumble out and faceplant on the ground.

"Eh?" Robotnik spoke, before his jaw dropped at the sight of the blue hedgehog. "WHAT?! HOW DID-" He was then interrupted by a smash to the underside of his Eggmobile from the small Sonic, causing the entire craft to shake. "Grrrr... I don't know how you got out of that prison, but I have no time for this!" The Eggmobile then rose up and soon blaster off over a rocky cliff face as the rest of the group came in after the small Sonic.

"Well, at least we've got a read on what's going on..." Tails spoke. "Eggman's gotta be hiding more though."

"I'm wanting to give him a piece of my mind for wanting to kill me." Carol growled. "But what about yellow, fat and stupid? He's got a Chaos Emerald!" Upon hearing that, the small Sonic soon took off in the direction Zomom ran off in.

"Hey!" The small Sash spoke, looking off after the small Sonic. "Shoot... guess we're getting that stone back!" She said, taking off after the hedgehog. "We'll meet back up with you later!"

"Sash!" Carol yelled before the pint-sized dragon disappeared from sight. "...shit, I really hope she knows what she's doing..."

" **NO TIME FOR DISCUSSION.** " Omega spoke, grabbing Tails and Carol by the shoulders and dragging them off. " **PRIORITY ONE EGG ESCAPING. UNACCEPTABLE FOR MY STANDARDS.** "

"Is he always like this?" Carol mouths to Tails as the massive robot dragged the two.

"When Eggman is involved? Yeah." Tails mouthed back.

* * *

The small Sonic would be running across the green cliffaces of Green Hill, the terrain taking on an all too familiar shape as he ran by a ledge with a monitor on it, a Motobug charging at him as he leaped over the robotic ladybird and continued across the bridge over the sandfall. A Chopper soon leapt out of the sandfall to try and take a bite out of the hedgehog, but it missed and instead got a facefull of spines from the hedgehog's jump.

The small Sonic then landed and took off across the ground, heading for the ramp right after the bridge... except the ramp and merely been eroded to a gentle slope as the hedgehog ran up it, looking slightly disappointed from the lack of a fun ramp. He continued on, running past a couple of bushes as the small dragon came up behind him, causing him to slow down a bit.

"The _least_ you could do was wait." The small Sash spoke, crossing her arms. The hedgehog merely shrugged in response, causing the dragon to pinch her forehead in exasperation. "Okay, so you can't wait. Figures as much." She then crossed her arms, looking at the hedgehog stern in the eye. "As annoying as you are, we need to work as a team for this mission. A failure in teamwork equals a failure on the whole, you understand?"

The hedgehog nodded.

"Good. At least we're on the same page." The small Sash spoke. "Now, we need to give you a codename so we can refer to eachother, understood?"

The small Sonic seemed confused, tilting his head sideways and looking at the small dragon puzzled.

"A codename. You know, something to refer to you by instead of your real name?" The dragon asked. "Like for example, my Scarves codename is Cyclone, so you can refer to me by that."

The small Sonic nodded. He seemed to understand that, at least.

"Alright so..." Cyclone stated. "How about Classic? That sound good to you?" The Sonic shrugged, seemingly okay with it.

"Good then." Cyclone stated. "Now, let's track down that fat bastard."

Classic nodded in response, then took off further in the Zone, leaving Cyclone by herself.

"...goddamnit." She growled to herself, taking off after the hedgehog. Soon enough she was vaulting herself over small ledges in the path, keeping her momentum of her speed before she rounded a corner, using a palm tree as a tether to the ground as she went over the cliff's edge, a massive sandy sinkhole below as she swung back around to the path, taking off down it to try and find Classic.

"How the hell could I lose him that quickly?!" Cyclone growled to herself as she vaulted a fallen totem pole. "Can he not just stay still for five seconds to discuss a plan on searching the place?!" Her train of thought was derailed as the cliff gave out from under her, causing her to start falling towards the sand pit below. She quickly reacted and charged up a small boost, soon rocketing forward a bit and grabbing onto a dead palm tree sticking out of the ground , hanging over the cliff above the pit.

'Too cocky.' Cyclone thought to herself, starting to pull herself up onto the overhanging tree like a sloth and started shimmying towards the cliff face. 'I can't let myself get unfocused like that. It leads to sloppiness, and sloppiness leads to failure, by punishment or by d-' Her train of thought as interrupted as she felt the tree shake and she heard a loud snap, the tree jerking lower. She looked over to see the base of the tree starting to break...

"Shit." She breathed to herself, trying to shimmy faster to get to the cliff face. The faster speed just made the tree start to break more before it snapped, falling in an arc as it still hung on by a thread before it slammed into the side of the rock face, Cyclone's back cracking hard against the rocky wall. The dragon growled in pain, almost certain she's cracked her back in the resulting crash as she tried to climb up the tree itself.

"I'll need to check myself once I get to safety..." She grumbled to herself as she continued to climb... before the tree jerked downwards, starting to snap more. "...dammit..." She growled to herself, trying to climb faster... before the tree snapped, the dragon and the tree started to fall... before a blue blur lept up and grabbed the dragon, whisking her to another nearby ledge. She had her eyes tightly closed during the fall. but then opened them to see the hedgehog holding her.

"Uh... thanks for the save..." Cyclone spoke, getting out of the arms of the hedgehog.

Classic merely flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Right, so..." Cyclone spoke. "We're still needing to track down that fat waste of space for that stone, but the problem is that this place is... how large again, a couple square miles you said?"

Classic merely raised both his hands with all his fingers out.

"Ten square miles, give or take..." Cyclone spoke. "Thank you. Now, unless we have some sort of tracking device on us, which, sadly, we don't since the walking tin can isn't with us, meaning we're currently shit out of luck."

Classic's ear would twitch as he heard the ground shaking a bit. He looked around as Cyclone continued the explanation.

"So unless we're able to catch sight of him nearby, searching this entire area of nearly ten square miles will take, according to my calculations, nearly a day or two, and by that point he'll be gon-" Her sentence was interrupted as the fat yellow Zeti burst out of the earthen wall and went over into the pit, continuing to burrow down into the ground. "...I guess I spoke too soon. Well then, we'll need to give pursuit after hi-" She was interrupted again as Classic soon jumped off the cliff, curled into a ball as he spun through the burrowed path. "Or we could just jump after him." She sighed, jumping down to the tunnel. "Goddamnit Classic..."

* * *

" **FIFTY METERS ENCLOSING.** " Omega droned, still dragging the two after the ovoid doctor. " **BE READY FOR COMBAT POSITIONS.** "

"Could you let go of us first?" Carol growled, before Omega released the grips on the two, allowing them to stand up and ready their arms. "Maybe next time lay off the grip pressure?"

" **I AM A ROBOTIC WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION. COMFORT IS NOT IN MY PROGRAMMING.** " Omega bluntly responded.

"But milkshakes are." Tails countered.

" **FRINGE BENEFIT.** " Omega spoke, his arms morphing to miniguns. " **LESS TALK, MORE EGGMAN DESTRUCTION.** "

"Is there anything else you get enjoyment out of than killing Eggman?" Carol asked, getting her Mech-Blade ready.

" **BAD PUNS.** " Omega spoke, walking forward. " **HE IS DEAD AHEAD, BE ON YOUR GUARDS.** "

"Noted." Tails spoke as the three came onto the clearing, a plain grassy field with several wooden structures surrounding it along with some scaffolding. Construction equipment seemed to litter the area, overlooking a large sandy lake. "Well... is this where he was traced to?"

" **AFFIRMATIVE.** " Omega said, before the familiar Eggmobile lowered into view, a saw dropping from it and being held by a chain. " **LAUNCHING ATTACK PROGRAMS. ALL TARGETS ON POACHING THAT EGG.** "

"Eh, I prefer them scrambled." Carol growled, the blade activating as she rushed the oncoming Wrecker-Saw. She sliced the blade through the chain, causing it to hit the ground... before it started going along the ground straight at Tails! The kitsune dodged out of the way as the buzzsaw soon headed for Omega, who then riddled it with bullets and slapped it out of the way before it became lodged in a rock and harmless.

"Not so confident now are ya?" Tails said, taking aim and firing a fire-bomb at the Eggmobile, it detonating and pushing the craft back. The Eggmobile merely flew over the cliff before another massive mech would rise up from the sand, one that Tails would be all-too familiar with as the pulsating sounds wracked his ears.

"Th-that's an Egg Dragoon!" Tails said. "I thought Sonic destroyed that thing back when the world shattered!"

"Well, looks intact to me!" Carol said. "And with how far out it is, I can't hit it with my shurikens!"

" **SAVE THE TALK FOR LATER.** " Omega said, stepping in front of the two and opening fire on the Egg Dragoon, the bullets merely plinking off it's armor. " **MORE KILLING EGGMAN NOW.** "

"Jeez, all business with you." Carol growled, looking out at the Dragoon as it started firing off drill missiles at them. Carol would dodge out of the way as the drill burrowed into the ground, just inches away from impaling her. She then lept onto the embedded drill itself before leaping off the end of it, the Mech-Blade morphing into an energy blaster and firing it right at the Egg Dragoon's cockpit. The mech recoiled from the shot, but it appeared to not do much damage as it soon backed up and whipped its tail in a fearsome motion, kicking debris onto the rounded circle. Tails and Carol barely managed to dodge out of the way while Omega merely stood there and tanked the rocks, not even fazing.

" **CUTE LITTLE AVALANCHE.** " Omega commented, grabbing one of the grey rocks that hadn't shattered. " **TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE.** " He then initiated a blast that shot the rock straight at the Egg Dragoon, this one now seeming to actually do some damage as the mech staggered backwards more than from the shot, a dent in it's armor now made.

"Omega, that's doing it!" Tails yelled. "Get more of those bedrock chunks, it's hard enough to damage the armor!"

" **THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS.** " Omega commented, stomping over to the next bedrock chunk. " **I VERY CLEARLY HAVE OPTICAL RECEPTORS** **TO SEE IT.** "

"Let me get a shot at it!" Carol spoke, rushing to another bedrock chunk as Omega loaded another bedrock chunk into himself. Carol's Mech-Blade would morph into a massive cannon, loading the bedrock chunk into it. Soon enough she fired at the Dragoon... at the same time Omega did. Luckily Carol's aim was a bit lower so the shots didn't end up cancelling eachother out, and both chunks slammed into the Dragoon's frame, weakening it more.

"You've got a lot of nerve for some rodents of a resistance." Robotnik growled as he whirred up the gun barrels and opened fire on the group. "Still, this Egg Dragoon has only lost ten percent of its combat strength!"

"You're lying!" Tails countered.

"You won't have to wait long to find out." Robotnik countered, soon firing another volley of rocks onto the field, some crashing into the scaffolding and causing it to collapse towards Carol. The wildcat acted fast and as she soon shifted back to her Scythe mode and began slicing through the scaffolding, cutting it apart like a hot knife through butter before the debris surrounded her.

"Alright fatso." Carol growled, dashing to another bedrock chunk and loading it up into the Mech-Blade cannon, before firing it off at the Dragoon. Robotnik would be in the know this time as he turned and fired a drill straight for Carol, piercing through the rock, and the wildcat... seemed to not be moving out of the way?

"CAROL!" Tails yelled to her, concerned. "What are you doing?!"

"Trust me Miles!" Carol yelled in response. "This is perfect!"

"BU-"

"I GOT THIS!" Carol yelled as the drill collided with the interior of the Mech-Blade cannon, metal grinding against metal as the wildcat grinned wildly, before firing the cannon again, the drill severing the Dragoon straight in two as the lower half fell into the sand chasm below, as the other one stutter-hovered over to the platform before Robotnik ejected from the craft, the rest of the Dragoon colliding with the field and exploding, caving it in and causing the surrounding arena to collapse into a massive cavern below. Carol would quickly shift the Mech-Blade into propeller mode as the scaffolding gave out from below her, stepping onto the small foothold as the propeller lifted her down into the hole safely, onto a massive rock platform surrounded by sand. Tails had also whirled his tails down onto the platorm as Omega also hovered down.

"Well... that was a bit too close for comfort..." Tails spoke. "You sure that was a good idea Carol?"

"Took the thing out, didn't it?" Carol countered. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a win in my book."

"Yeah, sure." Tails deadpanned. "Either way, we'll need to regroup with the other two. I don't know if they'll need help getting that Chaos Emerald..."

"Hey, if it's the Sash I know of in the Scarves, she's gonna rip 'em a new one." Carol spoke. "Now, let's go fin-"

"You three aren't going _anywhere_." A voice said as the Eggmobile lowered into view, just out of range of the group. "It seems like you three have started to pry those noses of your where they haven't belonged." He taunted, before looking to Omega. "And _you_. I thought my associate left you for dead in a scrap heap somewhere."

" **I WAS. NOT UNLIKE HOW I WILL BE LEAVING YOU IN A BLOODY PULP ONCE I AM FINISHED WITH YOU.** " Omega spoke, morphing his arms into guns. " **NOW HOLD STILL.** " He would then fire at Robotnik before a gigantic metal hand came down and blocked the bullets with itself.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that." Robotnik spoke, as another robotic hand came down, and soon the Eggmobile was encapsulated by a massive capsule, spiked at the top and only containing a small window. "Give up now while you still can! This new mech can't be pierced by your little toys!"

"Bring it you overgrown rotten egg!" Carol yelled loudly.

"I've warned you..." Robotnik growled, the mech reaching full power as the fists clashed together. "Now, taste an upgraded piece of the technology of one of my finest pieces of technology in the past! Get ready to be crushed by... _GRAND ARMS!_ "

* * *

"Hey! Fatso!" Cyclone yelled as the two caught up to the gigantic yellow Zeti, facing away from the two and turning around as Cyclone called him out.

"Hey, who're you callin' fat?" Zomom shot back, glaring down the two.

"You." Cyclone growled as Classic wagged a finger at him. "Now, hand over that stone. Before we rip you a new one."

"Buuuuh, why would I hand it to you?" Cyclone spoke. "Besides, I thought that the boss sent ya to that void thingus, so how you got out of there I have _no_ clue!"

Classic would look to Cyclone, confused before shrugging and looking back to Zomom, tensing up.

"You're speaking bull, just hand over the stone, and you don't get hurt." Cyclone growled, holding out her hand.

"Uh... can't." Zomom answered, rubbing the back of his head. "It's uh, not accessible."

"...what." Sash flatly asked. "Where'd you put it? Answer. _Now._ "

"Ehm..." Zomom said. "In a safe place."

Cyclone would start to become angry. "Alright you fat waste, I'm giving you five seconds to cough up the Emerald before I take it by force."

Zomom would take offense to that comment before charging Cyclone, trying to belly-flop on top of her. Cyclone would roll out of the way before delivering a smashing axe kick to the downed Zeti's back. Zomom moaned before getting back up, belly-smashing Cyclone away from him before he stomped the ground, a large rock landing in his hands before throwing the rock at the dragon. Cyclone merely spun in place, her tendrils whipping violently as the rock was shredded on impact, the dragon stopping on a dime, breathing heavily as she stared down the Zeti.

Zomom would then be knocked forward a bit as Classic attacked him from the back, throwing him off his guard. Zomom lept forward and slammed his ass onto the ground, creating a shockwave that threw Classic and Cyclone off their feet before the fat Zeti tried to elbow-piledrive the hedgehog. Classic would curl into a spindash out of the way before Zomom would impact the ground, throwing up a ton of sand in the air. Classic turned around and charged up another spindash before bouncing off a rubbery surface, the dust clearing to show three large Caterkillers standing tall, surrounding Zomom. "Guh, you're gonna have to try harder than that!" He said, leaping to a rock pillar out to the side as the Caterkillers lunged into the sand.

"Keep your guard up..." Cyclone growled as her tendrils twitched, one of the Caterkillers lunging up and trying to to crash down on top of the dragon. Cyclone would dodge-roll to the side before the Caterkiller collided with the ground, the dragon throwing a nasty tendril swipe and dislodging the head from the body segments. The head would still bounce around for a bit while the body segments went nuts, bouncing around the arena while Classic ran around and curled into a ball, deflecting the segments away from himself before the Caterkiller reformed, soon wiggling while it was straight up soon firing off its segments at the two before the second Caterkiller lunged for them. Classic, thinking fast, jumped into the Caterkiller's soft underbelly as it sproinged away, knocking the Caterkiller into the other one, causing the two to crash into a heap.

"Nice quick thinking." Cyclone commented to Classic. Classic would shrug and thumb his nose before the two Caterkillers would soon spring up again, now connected end-to-end as they started to sweep around the arena in a circular motion. Cyclone would tense up before yelling to Classic, "Go for the head!" Classic would nod before slamming into one of the rotating heads at the same time Cyclone did, causing both heads to slam into eachother at the same time and cause the mech to break apart by segments, the exploding heads sending the body segments into the sand and sinking down...

"Heh, that wasn't so hard..." Cyclone said, dusting her hands off. "Now, to take care of-" She stopped speaking as she realized that Zomom was gone from the pillar where he was standing. "Wh-where'd he go?!"

Classic would look around the underground area, trying to search for any glimpse of yellow to see if the Zeti could be spotted, but the arena's visibility proved less than optimal as Zomom was nowhere to be seen...

"...for fuck's sake, we lost him didn't we?" Cyclone growled, stomping her foot. "Damn it! We were so close!"

Classic would walk over, setting a hand on the dragon's shoulder to try and comfort her.

"I appreciate the comfort, but we've gotta track down that f-" was all that came out of Cyclone's mouth before a rumbling occurred, Zomom soon rising out of the sand on top of the last Caterkiller, now extended from the other Caterkiller's body segments. "...nevermind then! He wants more!"

Zomom would burp loudly before the Caterkiller attacked, firing off energy orbs at the two. Classic would dodge to the side of the blast before spindashing and colliding with the large Badnik before being rebounded by its soft underbelly. Classic would skid along the ground before Cyclone would spin into the Caterkiller, also bouncing off its soft underbelly harmlessly. The Caterkiller would then fire off its segments at the duo as they dodged, one by one as they started to bounce and collide with eachother on the arena before they magnetized back to the head. Zomom lept to a rock pillar before stomping, the entire Caterkiller being flung into his arms above his head.

"The hell is he..." Cyclone stated, before Zomom then ate the entire giant Caterkiller, swelling up large and bulbous. "...I'm not even gonna comment." She spoke, before Zomom soon started spitting out the body segments at the two. Classic would dodge out of the way of some of the body segments fired at him, but ultimately get hit with the soft underside of the one and be sent sprawling. Cyclone would growl at the annoyance of it, and as soon as the head of the Caterkiller was fired at her, she delivered a smashing kick straight into it, sending rebounding and smashing Zomom right in the face. The Zeti growled as he lept to the platform, slamming into it rear-first and causing the entire platform to crack. Zomom would then start spinning as sand would rapidly swirl around him, creating some kind of minature sand tornado as he started to go for Cyclone. The dragoness tensed up and and moved away from the suction funnel, keeping her distance as best she could while Zomom continued to spin. The fat zeti would eventually get dizzy and stop spinning, stumbling around like a buffoon before Classic came in and Spindashed right into his rear end, knocking him forward and onto the ground. Zomom got back up and charged at Classic, but Cyclone got in front of him and delivered a smashing kick straight to the zeti's gut. Zomom would stumble backwards, doubling over in pain.

"Ooooorrggh..." Zomom moaned in pain before collapsing onto his back, his head to the group, eyes swirly.

"Well, that's one way to skin a... whatever the hell he is..." Cyclone spoke, before walking over and firmly pressing her boot into his neck area. "Alright. The Emerald, cough it up. Now."

Meanwhile, high above the arena, a large swirly magenta void would open up again high above the arena, soon a 24 y/o mint-colored unconscious wildcat falling out of the hole, a familiar blade strapped to her back.

"...hhnnnuuh?" She moaned, her eyes starting to open, looking down to see she was speeding towards the ground and the three figures at fast speeds. Not saying another word she quickly flipped to her feet and unsheathed her blade, taking the buster sword shape. She then stabbed it into any of the surrounding walls she could to slow her descent as best she could to prevent herself from going completely splat like a pancake before slowing her descent to a safe speed. Soon she landed, slamming her feet straight into the gut of the massive yellow zeti. Zomom went wide-eyed before the force to his stomach causing him to spit the Chaos Emerald straight into between Cyclone's eyes, causing her to recoil in pain as the gemstone flew up into the air. Classic moved quickly before catching the Emerald in his hands, the stone now sparking with magenta static bolts and small squares. The hedgehog took a quick sniff of the gem before sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"GAH!" Cyclone screeched, stumbling backwards as she gripped her head in pain, her eyes clamped shut. "Fucking...! Son of a...! I didn't mean _LITERALLY!_ "

"Eh... sorry..." The wildcat spoke, rubbing the back of her head as she resheathed her blade onto her back. "Didn't know that was gonna happen..."

Cyclone would then glare at the figure. "Well then next time can ya at... least..." Her voice trailed off as she realized who was infront of her. "C...Coral?"

"Heh, sorry for the short notice on arrival." She spoke. "Was expecting to die after I trashed that station... guess life wanted to give me a second chance."

Cyclone would rush up and hug the feline. "It's alright, I'm just relieved you're alive..." Her ears would then twitch as she heard the weird pulsating sound again before looking behind Coral, seeing Zomom flicker out of existence. "What in the world..."

"Hm?" Coral asked, soon looking behind her to see the zeti gone. "Huh, where's big fat and cushiony?"

"He just... disappeared..." Cyclone spoke. "That's weird..." At that Classic would come forward with the Emerald.

"Oh, is that Emerald he had?" Cyclone spoke. "What's up with it? It's surrounded by that weird energy stuff..."

"If what I see is right..." Coral said, kneeling down to investigate the stone the hedgehog was holding. "It's energy is corrupted." Her nose then caught a whiff of something. "That and it smells like it was drenched in a bath of sandwich oils..."

"Well, it apparently it was in that fatso's stomach..." Cyclone spoke, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter right now, we should probably regroup with the others. Tails might be able to make heads of this." Classic would nod in response.

"Might as well, I guess, considering I've got nowhere to go right now." Coral spoke, putting a hand on her hip, before her ears picked up an explosion from a ways off. "That explosion related to your group at all?"

"Possibly." Cyclone spoke, before Classic started running off in that direction. "...and once you get him running, he doesn't stop."

"Eh, no prob." Coral said, twirling her blade as it transformed into a hover-motorcycle. "Hop on."

Cyclone hopped onto the back as the two took off after the running hedgehog...

* * *

"Hit the decks!" Carol yelled as she hit the ground as the two gigantic metal fists soared over her head, smashing through the pillars behind them. Tails would open fire upon the mech's central cockpit, but the shots were merely dissipating upon contact with the surface of the mech.

" **WORTHLESS TOY.** " Omega commented, his arms shifting to the miniguns. " **LET A PRO HANDLE THIS.** " He said as he opened fire on the mech, now the bullets plinking off of it like it was nothing, sending ricocheting shots everywhere.

"Omega stop!" Tails yelled, ducking out of the way. "You're sooner going to kill us than Eggman!"

"Try all you want you little pests, you're not breaking through this armor!" Robotnik taunted from the cockpit. "The Grand Arms is made from an unbreakable Avalitinite-diamondius alloy, its weapons powered by rare-earth Mobidionite crystals! You're sunk!"

Carol would grit her teeth, rushing at the mech with the Mech-Blade scythe swinging right into the mech's body, the plasma blade squealing against the side of the mech as it tried to cut through. Robotnik merely had the mech's hand grab the feline and throw her into the ground, the Mech-Blade clanking along with her.

"Aaaagh..." Carol moaned, resheathing her Mech-Blade, trying to get up to her feet. "You can't stay crowded in that tin can forever!"

"Try me." Robotnik countered, soon trying to raise a fist over Carol, intending to smash it down onto her. The wildcat dodged out of the way before noticing some of the rocks protruding out of the ground. A lightbulb moment went off in her head as she soon lured the mech over to the rocks as it slammed own again, this time palm first as it then became stunned as it smashed through the rocks, losing control for a second. Carol then wildly smirked as she soon leaped up onto the mech's hand and unsheathed her Mech-Blade, stabbing it into the back of the mech's hand, the metal screeching as the plasma blade tried to cut into the hand, before it pierced the important component; the hand's CPU brain unit. Soon grinning wildly, a fire in her eyes for the thrill of a fight, she soon started piloting the hand towards the central cockpit of the Grand Arms. Robotnik, in self defense and slight panic, started firing plasma balls from the other hand to try and stop Carol from closing in. Carol wildly dodged the flying plasma balls before the fist collided straight with the center of the mech, causing it to be sent flying backwards entirely in circles. Carol dismounted the hand with her blade as the mech regained its composure.

"That's doing something Carol!" Tails said, seeing the massive indentation in the face of the mech. "Do that again!"

Carol flashed a thumbs up. "On it!" She called, seeing the fists of the Grand Arms now spinning rapidly before firing off forwards like rockets, aiming to flatten the three. Carol smirked and aimed for the hand she had used before, soon backflipping as it came close and landing on top of it, stabbing back into the hand again to try and take control again... but would soon find out she could no longer control that hand! Carol, in a state of self preservation, lept off the hand with the blade as it continued onwards.

"Shit, can't use that one..." Carol muttered to herself, before she realized something. "Hey, where the oth-"

" **I HAVE THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL.** " Omega's voice droned as Carol soon looked behind herself to see the burly robot holding back the other rocket fist, using his own boosters as a counteraction to the massive fist. " **OVERRIDE THE FIST. NOW. MY HYDRAULICS CAN'T SUSTAIN THIS PRESSURE FOR LONG.** "

Carol would dash for the fist Omega was restraining before leaping up top, stabbing her blade into the hand and taking control of the mech's hand. Soon smirking, she went whole-hog speed crazy charging back towards the Grand Arms cockpit. Robotnik tried launching another set of plasma balls at it, but it soon proved fruitless as the fist collided with the cockpit again, sending the mech sprawling as Carol landed back onto the ground, Mech-Blade in hand.

"Alright, but now what do we do?" Carol countered. "His hands aren't gonna allow for another takeover!"

"Watch his movements for now, we'll try and get something formulated!" Tails said as the mech regrouped near the arena.

"Not on my watch!" Robotnik growled, soon the mech's hands electrocuting and the entire machine going into overdrive. "Just die already!" The electrocuted fists would then launch at the two, ready for impact. Carol managed to get out of the way, but Tails narrowly missed, getting slammed by the fists and getting delivered a nasty shock to the kitsune, his fur starting to singe a bit. The hands raised from the singed kitsune as the mech turned around, now focused on the wildcat with it's back to the kitsune. A lightbulb went off in his head as he saw the thrusters...

"That's it!" Tails said, weakly getting up while Carol kept Robotnik occupied, switching his blaster to chaser-lightning. He then took aim and pulled the trigger, soon the laser making a piercing through the engine casing, fluid starting to pour out of the back propulsion system. "Omega, NOW!"

" **ONE STEP AHEAD.** " Omega said, the twin flamethrowers primed before they shot out their intense flame jets, searing the liquid as the flames soon ran up towards the engine pac, then causing it to explode entirely, the entire mech collapsing to the ground. " **AND THAT IS NOW A SCRAMBLED EGGMAN. NOW FOR IT'S ANNIHILATION.** " Omega then trudged forward before the Eggmobile ejected from the machine, flying off through the hole in the ceiling.

"He's getting away!" Carol yelled.

" **SAVE IT.** " Omega spoke. " **AS MUCH AS I WANT TO TEAR OUT THAT DISGUSTING MEATBAG'S VOCAL CORDS AND THEN HAVE HIM BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS, IT IS FOR OUR BENEFIT HE LIVES FOR NOW.** "

"But-" Tails started.

" **NO EXCUSES.** " Omega spoke, before his audio receptors picked up something. " **IT APPEARS SOMEONE ELSE IS APPROACHING.** "

"Huh?" Carol asked, before looking behind to see the oncoming blue hedgehog, and an all too familiar figure...

"C...C..." Carol started to choke up as the other wildcat came in, skidding the bike to a halt.

"So, you must be the rest of the gr- OOOOF!" Coral said before getting plastered into a hug by a sobbing Carol. "H-hey, sis, calm down..."

"I-It's so good to see y-you again..." Carol sobbed into her sister's shoulder. "E-even if it's not the y-you I know, i-it's b-b-been so long..."

Coral would seem confused, but she merely returned the hug tightly. "Everything's okay sis... I'm here now..."

* * *

"So, you're telling me this 'Phantom Ruby' object is the cause of warping me to your timeline?" Coral asked once the group was outside of the hole, the night sky now out and the stars around.

Carol would nod. "And judging from what you've told us, the Ruby must've kicked in during your fall of the station in your mission, right?"

Coral would nod in response. "It's lucky that I managed to get near those stalagtites in order to slow my descent down. Otherwise I would've gone splat entirely."

Tails would nod. "Either way, it's good to have you on the team for the time being. If we need some stealth or infiltration, you'd be the go-to person."

Coral would put a hand on her hip, leaning to one side a bit. "You realize you're talking to a Tea, right?" She said, stretching a bit to accentuate her curves ever so much. "I'm not a Crimson S++ Scarf for nothing. It'll be a cakewalk."

" **HOPEFULLY YOUR COMBAT PROWESS IS ALSO UP TO CODE.** " Omega countered.

"Fighting isn't everything." Coral rebutted. "In my code, the less bodies left behind, the better. A bloodbath doesn't exactly do good for a Scarf's public image."

"True that." Cyclone spoke. "Now then, what do we do with that Emerald?" Classic would then come forward with the Emerald, still covered in that magenta static.

"Well, not much to be honest." Tails said, taking the gem from Classic. "From what I'm seeing, it's been corrupted with the Phantom Ruby's energy, meaning it could possibly be unstable. We shouldn't risk trying to use it until we can find a way to purify it."

" **AFFIRMATIVE.** " Omega spoke. " **MIGHT I ALSO RECOMMEND THAT WE REST FOR THE NIGHT UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING AS WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING ALL DAY?** "

"Good thought Omega." Carol said, rolling her shoulders. "Ouch... I never realized how tense I've been this entire time..."

" **REST WILL DO US WONDERS.** " Omega spoke, before another cup dispensed from his torso. " **THAT, AND MILKSHAKES.** " The sheer humor of the said statement was so amusing most of the group couldn't help but laugh a bit; they felt like they needed it after everything that happened today.

"Alright." Coral said. "Let's get us a camp set up..."

* * *

 _ **With Robotnik sent running and a Chaos Emerald retrieved from Zomom's cold dead... gut, things are starting to look up for the small rag-tag remains of AvaMerc as they settle down for the night. However, while they may get an evening of rest, for Milla, Aaron, and Silver, their night has just begun for a dangerous game. Tune in next time for Chapter 6: 'Battle of the Hounds'...**_


	7. Chapter 6: Battle of the Hounds

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3:  
Phantom Forces  
Act 1_**

 _Chapter 6: Battle of the Hounds_

* * *

Embers would be lightly floating up from the lush overgrowth of the jungle as the hound, lion, and hedgehog soon found their way onto the scene, only to behold a truly gut-wrenching sight. The entire overgrowth was ablaze, casting a burning orange glow across the entire location. High above the area were massive bird-shaped bombers, dropping massive canisters of napalm onto the growth, the cans bursting open as the deadly flammable liquid splashed out and caught fire to the trees. The smell of cinders, burning wood and torched stone filled the air as screams were heard from the burning jungle. The flames licked the ruined structures, singeing them with each passing touch. It looked as if it was literal hell on Mobius.

"This is terrible..." Milla breathed. "We need to act fast before the entire jungle is leveled with people inside it!"

"What about the Valkeen bombers though?" Silver spoke, indicating to the flying condor bots. "Trying to get innocents trapped out of there is going to be next to impossible; we'll just get torched!"

"You handle those; you're the one who can fly." Milla spoke. "I'll handle clearing out those fires; there's many ruined reservoirs with tons of water I could use to douse them."

"Then what the hell do I do?" Aaron questioned.

"There may be innocents trapped in there." Milla spoke. "You're the pyrokinetic, you can bend flames out of the way. Get in there and get anyone trapped in there out of there."

"And can I-"

"Yes you can destroy any robots that get in your way." Milla spoke, seeming annoyed. "Now let's move." Silver nodded before he took to the skies after the bombers. A low rumbling would be heard before a horde of ostrich robots soon stormed by below, heading off towards another location. Milla and Aaron would jump down from their positions and land on the backs of two separate robots and they seemed to run through the burning jungle as they lept over downed trees and burning undergrowth before the flock split, Aaron and Milla going down separate paths into the currently-on-fire jungle.

* * *

"Everyone, move!" Fiora yelled as the jackals fled from the oncoming Egg Pawns. "There's too many! Retreat, RETREAT!" The shower of Egg PAwn shots seemed to fly over their heads as the group of five jackals fled from the oncoming force of nearly several dozen Egg Pawns.

"Don't lose ground!" Finn yelled. "Floyd, where's the quickest route out?"

"On it, boss man!" The jackal wearing a beret said, pulling out a small device. "Quickest route out is more towards the eastern side! There's a cliff face that overlooks the ocean we can dive off of!"

"Yeah, and smash ourselves up in the process!" Another jackal, wearing a bandanna said. "That plan is suicide! We're good as dead!"

"Never doubt comrade!" Finn yelled back as he sliced an Egg Pawn's head off, continuing to run. "It's our only shot we have at this point!" At that point a massive hammer-wielding robot would slam down in front of the jackal group, the massive mallet primed to smash the group down.

"DODGE!" Fiora yelled, the group scattering as the hammer slammed down, leaving an imprint where it was as the Egg Pawns continued to open fire on them. Finn growled as he rushed the titan's feet, intending to slice at the ankles of the mech. His red sword sliced through one of the ankles, starting to have the massive bot starting to tilt over. He growled, soon scaling the robot and driving the blade into the top of the bot's head, straight to the hilt as the titanic bot collapsed to the ground.

Fiora would growl as she sliced open another Egg Pawn with her blade. "They just keep coming!"

"Keep holding them off!" Finn yelled, slicing another Egg Pawn open. "We need to get out of here!"

"I'm try- AAAH!" Fiora yelled as she got shot in the back by an Egg Pawn blast, the shot singing the back of her top and fur. She fell to the ground in pain, her eyes clamped shut as she twitched, the searing pain coursing through her entire back.

"Fiora!" Finn yelled, grabbing the female jackal and hoisting her over his shoulder. "Shit! Move, now!" He yelled to the other jackals, getting a move-on again as the flaming trees started to collapse more and more around them.

"We're trapped boss!" Floyd said. "There's too much fire!"

"So this is how our squad's going out; burnt alive in our own damn home!" A jackal with a beret said. "We're as good as dead!"

"There has to be a way through this!" Finn yelled, his eyes darting all across the area to try and viable escape route. "There has t-"

"BOSS!" Another jackal with a poncho yelled. "INCOMING NAPALM STRIKE FROM ABOVE!" Finn's eyes would widen as he looked up, seeing several incendiary bombs dropping down from the skies above...

...before they were enveloped by a greenish glow and tossed out of the way into the nearby ocean. Soon enough the trees would gain the same glow as they were lifted out of the way of the group of five. Above them would be a familiar silver hedgehog...

"Hey! Are you guys alright?" Silver yelled to the group of jackals.

"We might be fine, but our second boss is down!" Floyd said, indicating to the injured female jackal. "She needs med help stat!"

"Get her to the edge of the jungle to the north of here!" Silver yelled. "I'm gonna focus on taking those ships out!"

"Feivel." Finn spoke, looking to the jackal in the bandanna. "Take Fiora and get her to safety." He said, passing the unconscious female jackal to him.

"What about you boss?" Feivel replied. "Shouldn't you be coming along too?"

"I'm helping the hedgehog take down those ships." Finn answered, gripping tightly to his blade. "After that failed raid months ago, I'm not turning down an opportunity to fight back against him."

"You sure this won't backfire boss?" The jackal in the poncho spoke.

"I know what I am doing." Finn growled. "Now get out of here; that's an order!"

"Roger boss!" The other jackals said before carting off Fiora away from the flames towards safety. Finn would then look to Silver. "Alright, lift me up."

Silver would shrug, soon using his psychokinesis as Finn was lifted up into the air, surrounded by a greenish aura. "Gotta admit, you've got a lot of nerve for sending your squad off to handle this yourself. You sure you wanna do this?"

"As long as they're safe I'll be fine." Finn replied bluntly. "Now let's get to destroying those bombers!" Silver nodded in response before lifting himself and Finn towards the giant bird-like bombers. The hedgehog would set down Finn on one of the bombers while he landed on another, motioning to the jackal to take them out, to which he nodded in response. Soon enough Finn would tear open the back paneling and pull at the circuitry of the drone, causing its engines to spark and sputter, the ship starting to lose altitude. The jackal moved quickly and ran on the wing before leaping and stabbing his blade into the wing of another Valkeen bomber, the first one losing control and divebombing into the ocean nearby.

"He's definitely got the experience..." Silver mumbled to himself before using his psychokinesis and ripped the wings off of the bomber he stood on, the torso falling clean out of the sky as the hedgehog then used the remaining wings to then impale two more of the bird bombers, the wings piercing their napalm bomb canisters as the ships caught fire and sunk. Silver then landed on the next one as he used his psychokinesis again to rip the engines out of the one he was standing on, releasing them as they spiraled like fireworks and crashed into two other bombers, causing them to detonate instantly.

Finn would smirk, soon slicing open the main wires for another bomber to start crashing. "Alright, that seems to be the last of them!" He yelled to the hedgehog. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

Silver would nod, flying over and grabbing Finn before the last bomber crashed into the ocean as the two landed on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

"Well, that takes care of those." Silver spoke, before looking over to the jackal. "Nice work by the way."

"I could say the same to you." Finn responded. "Never seen a hedgehog with psychic powers before."

"Stick around; I probably won't be the weirdest thing you see all week." Silver replied. "Now, let's head out of here an-"

" _ **Oh, I don't think you two are going to be heading anywhere...**_ " A dark voice said from behind them as the tall dark hound figure stared down at them. " _ **Here I am to do a simple task and I find two little insects crawling around trying to hold back against me. It's sad, really.**_ " He spoke. " _ **And here I thought I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty...**_ "

* * *

"Buzz off, scrap!" Aaron growled, smashing an Egg Pawn's face in as he was helping a group of survivors get out of the burning jungle. "The jungle exit is right through here! Get yourselves out!" The scampering Mobians would rush by without a second thought, as well as the human explorers that were unfortunately caught in the jungle at the wrong time.

"Alright, that's that load..." Aaron said to himself, looking back towards the burning jungle, rushing back into the inferno as his ears twitched, hearing metal footsteps as another horde of Egg Pawns emerged from the flames, their optics set on the lion. "And now the rest of the scrap heap has come to play! You wanna go boys?! Bring it!"

Soon enough the Egg Pawns would ready their blasters and open fire on the lion. Aaron would growl and rush forward, shots whizzing by his head as his flaming fist slammed straight into the front of the first Egg Pawn, crunching its face in and causing it to collapse. The lion would then leap at another one, tearing off it's blaster arm and shoving it right into its face, blowing it clean open as he then turned the blaster arm on the other Egg Pawns, scrapping them to shreds. The lion roared before grabbing another Egg Pawn and ripping it half, throwing the shredded body at another Pawn. At that moment the Egg Hammers would come trudging in, their massive hammers primed for battle.

"Oh, so there's more of ya, are there?!" The lion growled, his fists becoming coated in flame. "Bring it!" He soon rushed at the Egg Hammers as one soon lifted its mallet to slam down on top of the lion. Aaron would soon burst into a searing fireball and slam into the massive bot's legs, causing it to lose balance before it tipped and fell, landing itself on its backside. The lion would then climb over and start trying to rip the head off of the robot itself, but would soon barely dodge out of the way in time as another massive mallet came down on top of the robot. Seems like the other Egg Hammers were just bent on killing Aaron, not so much for self-preservation of their own kind. The lion would growl as he rolled out of the way of another hammer slam to throw two separate fireballs at the Egg Hammer, but they just fizzled out without any effect. Another hammer swing would come down, Aaron rolling out of the way... only to have his tail slammed right at the end. He meowled in pain as he pulled the tail out from under the hammer, feeling it partially broken from where it slammed. Growling angrily, he launched at the Egg Hammer, intending to tear it inside out. The Egg Hammer would then swing it's hammer around, slamming it straight into Aaron and sending him sprawling through a couple trees. The lion growled in pain, trying to get back up as the massive machine lumbered towards him.

Aaron tried lunging again, but he'd soon find out his feet were stuck in the ground, slowly starting to sink in. "Quicksand, shit!" He breathed to himself as he struggled to get unstuck, but only ended up sinking further into the ground. The flames blared brightly as the looming bot grew closer, it's hammer primed to slam down right onto his head...

...only for another figure to come in and slam it's feet into the head of the gigantic Badnik, causing it to collapse onto it's back. The figure was silhouetted against the harsh flames of the jungle, but her features could definitely be seen; short ruffled hair, toned female physique, rounded chest, and a long prehensile tail with a bracelet near the end.

"Hey!" The voice said, husky and female. "You alright?"

"A little stuck, but overall alive thanks!" Aaron retorted. "Could use a hand here!"

"Hold on!" The figure said, leaping down and extending her tail out to Aaron's position. The lion gripped into the tail as the tail itself soon formed fingers and grabbed Aaron's hands along with it. Giving a slow but steady pull, the new figure would help pull Aaron out of the quicksand, having him sprawl out onto the ground, panting heavily as the figure looked down at him from above. From here he could see her features better; gray ruffled fur and hair, darker gray muzzle, small dark gray ears, black bodysuit with an orange line down the sides, brown shorts, yellow vest, dark red neck scarf, black fingerless gloves with orange pads, and yellow sports tape around her wrists and ankles with yellow sport sneakers.

"Thanks for the save back there." Aaron spoke. "Thought I was goner."

"No prob." The figure said, extending a hand. "Tangle Kirano; lemur and freedom fighter."

"Aaron Kasarion; pryokinetic lion and full-time hazard." Aaron said, shaking the lemur's hand. "Either way, I gotta help get other civilians out of the place here before it all comes crashing down."

"Seems like you could use some help there." Tangle responded. "Mind if I tag along?"

"What for?"

"Hey, you're not the only one wanting to scrap some Eggman robots!" Tangle said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's get out there and turn more of 'em to shreds!"

Aaron smirked, soon the two rushing back off into the burning jungle...

* * *

The basset would continue to hold onto her ostrich bot as it continued deep into the burning jungle, passing some stone relics currently being singed by the flames. Soon enough she'd see the massive water reservoir; she was in luck! Steadying her nerves and balance, she'd leap off the ostrich bot itself and land on top of one of the pillars in the water, soon focusing her energies.

"If I can create enough pressure using the water here..." She spoke, looking up at the smoke-filled sky. "...and that's a huge if, but I might be able to generate enough power to forcefully create a storm cloud that can put out the jungle! Now, focus..." Milla would inhale deeply, her tail slowly idling as the water around her started to rumble, small waves starting to form from the ruin pole she was perched on as water started to collect into a ball in front of her. Her ears would start to rise as the ball steadily grew larger and larger above her, the water dripping ever so much onto her. Raising a leg and keeping her foot close to her other leg, she'd raise her arms, the gigantic water ball slowly rising into the sky...

The marks under Milla's eyes would glow blue as the water ball grew larger and larger, drips of water coming off of all sides of the ball as she soon raised her arms higher, the massive ball of water starting to raise into the sky before she opened her eyes, sending the massive water ball flying into the sky before it exploded into a massive sparkling aura, soon enough a massive thundercloud starting to form above as the rain would then pour down onto the jungle, steam now rising from the trees and ruins as the rain hit the flames. Milla sighed in relief as her ears flopped back down to the sides of her head, thankful her plan had somehow managed to work.

"Phew... too close..." She sighed, before her ears picked up the pulsating sound again, causing her to tense up. "...I may have spoken too soon. Whatever that is, I better track that down!" Milla would leap back to the ground and take off in the direction of the sound, the heavy rain falling and soaking her fur. She would soon hear the stamping feet of another horde of robotic ostriches, soon leaping to the side as the massive pack stampeded by her. She then leaped back and got onto the back of another robotic ostrich, riding with the pack as they soon were on a massive slide-like structure riding over the rest of the jungle. The rain, however, was starting to make the structure slick, causing the ostrich bots to slip and collapse, soon becoming nothing more than a massive metal avalanche rolling down the slide. Milla would leap back and let the water carry her down it before seeing the ostrich bots went over the edge. Forming a Phantom Sphere in hand, she soon lept at the end of the slide and detonated the Sphere, launching her over to the nearby cliff, causing her to sprawl out a bit as she tumbled onto the ground.

"Nnnnnghhh..." Milla moaned, getting to her feet before continuing on. "I gotta work on landing myself..." She then rounded a corner of the jungle, leaping off a large root before vibrations could be felt within the jungle floor. The basset tensed up as soon out of the ground in front of her broke a giant Snake Mount slithering into the air. It soon laid its eyes on the basset as it soon hissed, lunging for her. Milla formed a Phantom Cube in her hand before blasting it straight into the Snake Mount's face, causing it to recoil in pain before the dog landed onto the mount's body, running across it. Her mind was racing. "How is there a Snake Mount here?! I thought they were all destroyed after Brevon's failed launch!" Soon enough the tail end of the Snake Mount would fling the basset off her groove, sending her sprawling into the air before its massive maw reached up and slammed shut with her inside of it.

The Snake Mount would then start slithering through the jungle before slams came from inside its torso, soon the basset forcing the Mount's mouth open as she struggled to hold it open. "I-I'm not becoming snake food just yet!" She growled, soon forming a Phantom Sphere in her one hand and throwing it into the Mount's throat, detonating it and causing a gag reflex before she escaped the maw, the metal jaws snapping shut. Milla went out into a full-blooded sprint, soon racing on all fours as she rounded the corner of a ruin site, feeling the disturbance in energy grow larger...

She soon came upon the clearing of the area as she saw Silver fighting the larger hound figure, the jackal knocked unconscious on the ground. " _ **Hmph...**_ " The larger figure said. " _ **This has exceeded my expectations... but I don't mind tormenting the hero-playing victim either.**_ "

Silver would grit his teeth, soon charging at the larger hound figure before the hound merely stopped his punch by grabbing his hand. Silver would then try to throw a sneak-attack punch, but somehow the larger hound figure would stop the attack with the other hand. " _ **Tsk, tsk.**_ _ **And here I thought you actually had honor in trying to fight. Sadly not, it seems. You need to learn...**_ " The large hound figure would then whirl around and slam Silver through a stone pillar, the entire thing collapsing. " _ **...that there is no hope for either of your worlds.**_ "

"Nnnggh... nnngggh..." Silver groaned as he tried to get to his feet. "Th-there _is_ hope! There always is! As long as black, cruel-hearted sludge buckets like yourself throw it away!" Soon he cloaked himself in the cyan energy of his psychic powers and charged straight at the hound, countering with a charge of his own. The two would trade blows for a good while before what appeared to be a small magenta chunk was knocked off and fell to the ground in the bushes, out of sight of anything else. The hound soon rammed straight into Silver, sending the hedgehog flying into the stone wall behind him. Silver would collapse onto the ground, exhausted from the blunt force exhibited on him.

" _ **Well, looks like it was your life that you ended up throwing away...!**_ " The hound growled before charging at Silver. At that point Milla had came out from her hiding spot, throwing up a Phantom Shield which protected herself and Silver as the larger hound figure rebounded off of it, backing away.

"You're exhausted Silver, tag out! I'll handle it from here!" The basset growled, holding her shield firm.

"M-Milla?!" Silver moaned as he tried to get up.

" _ **Well, if it isn't the little runt who decided to escape her cell on that station...**_ " The larger hound spoke.

"No thanks to the incompetence of your henchmen..." Milla snarled back.

" ** _You say that, and yet I sense of you... there's fear inside all of that bravado. A thick musk wrapping itself around you. Has your memories been jogged of when I sent those two little saviors to their demise?_** " The hound figure said, setting a hand on the front of his mask.

Milla's muscles would tense up from that statement, but she'd steel her nerves and try to keep up her facade. "There's no memories to be jogged! I don't even know anything about you, not even your name!"

" ** _Considering it is you..._** " The hound said, bringing his hand down back to cross his arms. " ** _You may refer to me as 'Infinite', in what little knowledge you may seem to retain. Though I believe this will be the last time we will meet._** "

"The only thing I need to know is of that gem in your chest you're using to destroy everything we love! Now cough up what it is!" Milla growled, clenching her fists.

" _ **You mean this stone?**_ " Infinite spoke, indicating to the magenta stone in his chest, before chuckling darkly. " ** _This stone or its powers are none of your concern._** "

"Oh, _really?_ " Milla growled, her bracelets starting to glow. "Then I guess I'll just have to make you tell me by force! You masked prick!" The basset would then lunge for Infinite.

" _ **Interesting...**_ " Infinite spoke, the gem starting to glow. " _ **I'd like to see you try, Milla!**_ " At that moment Infinite would unleashed a burst from the stone, soon the basset girl starting to lose her grip on the ground as things started to be lifted into the air and yanked from the ground. However, at the current moment, Milla's mind was reeling from Infinite's last statement.

" _H-how does he know my name?!_ " The basset thought, her mind completely unfocused at this point.

"Milla! He's coming from the front!" Silver yelled, trying to snap Milla back into focus, but it'd prove fruitless as soon Infinite rammed into Milla, sending the hound spiraling away howling over the massive cliff face...

* * *

Milla's head would be pounding as she struggled to get up, her eyes blurry from what felt like heat... wait, heat? That couldn't be right...

Soon enough she cleared her vision as she viewed her surroundings. The jungle below was now on fire as it was before, several massive ground chunks and ruins heaved into the air and floating suspended. She was now on the back of the massive Snake Mount from before, now even longer than the last time she saw it. Floating in front of her from before was the none other than Infinite, the gem in his chest still giving off its glow.

" _ **So, you're still alive after that?**_ " Infinite spoke, a hint of disappointment in his voice. " ** _A shame. Guess I'll have to get my hands dirty for this..._** "

Milla would growl. "You don't scare me!"

" _ **We'll see about that...**_ " Infinite retorted, soon floating away backwards. " ** _If you truly think you stand a chance, try to hit me..._** "

Milla would growl, soon running along the length of the Snake mount, going after Infinite. The larger hound had the stone glow before a series of red cubes in rings appeared along the Mount's body. Milla interpreted that chances are those cubes would be harmful to her, so she'd hurdle each of the rings with relative ease before Infinite stepped up his game, soon summoning a large cube coil that wrapped around the Snake Mount's body like a twisting corkscrew. Milla would tense up before attempting to leap over the corkscrew, but her feet would barely graze the cubes, causing her surroundings to go red. Suddenly, spikes shot from the segments of the mount where there were no slots before. The basset panicked and hurdled the spikes barely before the red faded, Infinite reappearing in front of her.

" _ **Enjoying a taste of the Ruby's power?**_ " Infinite taunted. " _ **Trust me, there's more where that came from...**_ "

Milla would get back to her feet before taking off after Infinite again, but he'd just be barely out of reach of the basset girl. A lightbulb went off in her head as she got an idea, soon forming a Phantom Cube in her hand before directing it behind her, blasting herself forward from the Cube's blast. She was finally starting to gain ground! A couple more bursts and she soon caught up to Infinite, soon leaping up to the hound and blasting him in the face with a Phantom Sphere. Infinite would recoil in pain before warping back a few feet away, still floating away from Milla.

" ** _So, you managed to figure yourself a strategy..._** " Infinite growled. " ** _We'll just see how long that lasts..._** " Infinite would then blur away in a red mist as Milla soon found herself running towards the head of the Snake Mount. With quick reaction she soon lept off the head of the mount, landing onto a massive spring as she bounced between the spring orbs before regaining her footing on the end of the twisting Snake Mount, taking off after the floating hound. Infinite's gem would glow again before the rings of cubes appeared along the mount's body again. Milla would hurdle them again before cubes formed in two wall-like patterns by her sides, tracking her very movements. The cubes would then start to close in on her slowly, causing her mind to start racing. Forming a Phantom Cube in her hand, she soon jumped as high as she could before blasting downwards, springing her up into the air and out of the way of the closing cubes before they crunched shut.

Milla growled, keeping her chase up as she soon lept off the Snake Mount's head again, hitting the springs one more before being flung high up into the air, showing Infinite had created replicas of himself to try and surround Milla. The basset at that point pounced off of the heads of the fake Infinites as she closed in on the real one, a Phantom Sphere in hand. Just mere inches away from blasting Infinite, the large hound raises a shield, blocking her from attacking. Milla growled, clamping onto the shield and refusing to let go, a fierce look in her eye. She kept pounding onto the shield before it started to crack from the psychic strain wearing on Infinite's mind. Milla growled before shoving her last fist through, unleashing the Phantom Sphere in a large blast, knocking the two away to either side.

Infinite would be breathing heavily. " _ **I see... for a mere girl, you manage to rabble up quite a fight.**_ " He spoke, his tone dry but amused. " ** _However... I know you will still lose._** "

Milla would clench her fists. "That's what you think! I-I-"

" ** _You are nothing compared to the Ruby's power._** " Infinite growled, soon unleashing another area-coating blast, bathing the surroundings in the deep magentas and reds. Milla was thrown off from the force of the Ruby's power again, stumbling a bit before she felt something pressed up against her chest. She looked down to see a dark red Phantom Cube pressed against her chest, looking up to see Infinite's face right in front of hers.

"Wh-"

" ** _Goodbye._** " Infinite spoke, before unleashing a point-blank Shield Burst right into the basset's chest. Milla went wide-eyed as the force flung her backwards off the Snake Mount, smashing into the ground with a thud. " _ **As I said; you would lose. And with how feeble your powers are, you're not even worth the time fighting again.**_ "

"Nnnnngghh..." Milla moaned, trying to prop herself up on her arms.

" ** _I will not repeat myself, so you better listen closely._** " Infinite growled. " _ **The next time I see your face trying to stop me, I will kill you. Now, farewell.**_ " And with that, Infinite flew off into the distance, leaving the basset by herself collapsed.

"N-no... y... y..." Milla then lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

"Milla!" A voice yelled, before Silver came up onto the scene. He kneeled down by the basset and put a finger to her wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"Silver!" Another voice yelled, before Aaron and Tangle came up onto the scene. "Is everything alright? What happened to Milla?"

"No time to explain!" Silver said. "We need to get back to base, pronto!"

"Base?" Tangle asked. "You guys have a whole base out here?"

"It's back at Station Square!" Silver answered, picking up Milla. "Finn will meet us there along with the rest of the Jackal Squad! Now hurry!"

The lion and lemur would nod, soon following after Silver towards Station Square, not noticing the small magenta stone in the nearby bushes...

* * *

"I'm telling you, we're associates of your silver hedgehog friend! Now open up!" Fiora growled, banging on the door to the Resistance Base.

"How can we be sure you're not just posers of Eggman's robo-goons?" The intercom said. "For all we know you're just using a voice modifyer just to trick us!"

"YOU HAVE A GODDAMN CAMERA IN THE CORNER OF THE FUCKING HALL!" The female jackal roared, banging on the door harder. "LET US IN!"

"What's going on here?!" A voice said as Silver and the others came onto the scene, the hedgehog holding the basset over his shoulder.

"This fucker won't let us in!" Fiora growled. "Does he not realize the dangers out here?!"

"Hold on..." Silver grumbled, stepping in and hitting the button. "Relax Amy, they're with us."

"Password?"

"Snooping as usual, I see!"

"Welp, you're legit, go ahead and come in." The intercom said before the iron doors opened, allowing everyone in. Amy would look unamused, hitting the door switch and shutting it once the group was inside. "For Gaia's sake Silver, next time send us a notification that you're gonna be getting new recruits!"

"Well sorry, I didn't have enough time to notify you guys about what had happened." Silver said, setting Milla down on the med bay table, for what little bay there was. "Long story short, Milla's brutally hurt. Took blunt force straight to the chest from... something."

"What else happened out there?" Amy spoke.

"And who's the new girl and the rest of this motley bunch in here?" Knuckles asked, motioning to Tangle and the Jackals.

"New recruits." Silver said. "Aaron told me of everything that happened when he met Tangle."

"The girl saved my life, why _wouldn't_ I invite her in?" Aaron spoke. "She's got spunk, flavor, a tail arm, and she can wreck the shit outta those slag heaps anyday!"

"Hmm..." Amy mused. "Well, you do have a point. What's your name?"

"Just call me Tangle." The lemur replied, extending her tail to shake Amy's hand, which she does so. "Aaron told me there was a group he was fightin' with. Never got to know it'd be the famous ones that were originally Mobius's saviors!"

"Heh, well, thanks for the complement, I guess." Amy said, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry you have to see us in such a ravaged state like this."

"Hey hey, it's fine!" Tangle spoke, before something clicked. "Hey... where's the rest of the AvaMerc bunch?"

Everyone fell silent at the mention of the group name, seemingly hanging their heads, except for Tangle and the Jackals.

"What?" Tangle asked innocently. "Did I strike a nerve somewhere?"

"Tangle..." Amy sighed, looking at her with sad eyes. "Sonic and Sash are... gone. Completely."

"What?" Tangle asked, confused. "Where'd they go?"

"You didn't see the newscasts?" Silver asked.

"I live out in the middle of Mystic Jungle in the Mystic Ruins." Tangle deadpanned. "News doesn't exactly travel that far."

"Sonic and Sash tried to fight that hound thing..." Amy spoke. "...they lost, and he had killed them."

Tangle almost seemed like she was shattered from that revelation. "Wh... wh-what?"

"Mmmmmhh..." A soft moan came from Milla's mouth, starting to stir. Everyone drew their attention to her as she slowly sat up, holding her chest in pain, Salamon soon rushing to her side to help her.

"Hey, take it easy girl..." Salamon whispered. "You're hurt badly, you shouldn't be moving this much."

"I-I'll stop moving when I'm de-AACK!" Milla interrupted herself with a hacking cough.

"Just lay down Milla." Salamon said, rubbing her shoulders. "Rest is what you need right now."

"Hopefully she'll recover..." Silver spoke before looking around. "Hey, where'd Knuckles go?"

"Huh?" Amy said, looking around the room. Indeed, it seemed the red echidna had left the room without so much as saying a word. Even the Master Emerald was still in it's place in the side of the room, where Knuckles should have been guarding it. "Yeah... he's gone!"

"Maybe he went out for some fresh air?" Cream asked. "I mean, it can get kinda musty in here at times with all of us..."

"And breathe in air from outside where there's killer robots and the like?" Rouge said. "Besides, we would've heard him opening either of the main doors to leave."

"Maybe he took the teleporter?" Amy said, checking the teleport logs. "No, nothing recent..."

"Eh, he'll come back." Rouge said. "Either way, we should contact the Resistance Base on Avalice, shouldn't we?"

"We should." Amy said, turning to the monitor and typing into the keyboard. "We'll forward all that we know to them and try to see if we can get a search in the databases about that hound figure."

Rouge would nod. "Right. Let's try to get into contact." She spoke, but the back of her mind was eating away at her. ' _Where did Knuckles go though..._ '

* * *

 _ **And so closes out a harsh time for our heroes. After Milla takes a brutal beating by the hands on the new powerhouse in town, Infinite, things are looking grim for the group. To make matters more confusing, Knuckles seems to have disappeared! Where did he go off to? And with the contact of the Avalician Resistance Base, what's happening on their end? Answers will come, but stay tuned for Chapter 7: 'A Meeting of Odds'...**_


	8. Chapter 7: A Meeting of Odds

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3:  
Phantom Forces  
Intermission 1  
_**

 _Chapter 7: A Meeting of Odds_

* * *

The echidna's footsteps were light as he tread in his own familiar territory; the massive trees spread out above him like a enveloping canopy as he stepped over the dew-speckled grass. Large mushrooms dotted the area as large vine roadways interconnected the small rock faces between them in the vast forest. The dew of the grass lightly wetted his shoes as he soon found a clearing, a bit of moonlight filtering in from the gaps in the massive tree canopy with mushrooms on multiple sides of it. His fists tightened, tensing up as he sensed his surroundings...

And then rolled to the side as a blade struck the ground where he stood originally. The echidna cracked his knuckles as he braced for another attack before a dark armored figure emerged from the edge of the clearing, the pinkish-purple highlights coursing through it as it walked to the blade, picking it up. "I see you got my message..." The figure said, a voice synthesizer masking the figure's true identity.

"And I see you decided to not adhere to my recommendation of no weapons." Knuckles growled, staring down the armored figure. "What the hell do you want with this meeting anyways? Last I remember, you're working with Eggman, someone who's bent on wiping out the Resistance."

"That mad quack is the only one dumb enough to believe us." The figure spoke. "All my leader Ix wants is for us to return after we were cruelly ripped away from our home over a century ago. At least, that's what he told us anyways."

"...you're telling me you've never seen Mobius." Knuckles retorted, suspicious of the figure's claims.

"I was born in the Twilight Cage; that _prison_." The figure spat. "It was a hell; trapped in a void on a small part of land with no escape in sight, bordered in it by other warring alien factions hell bent on dominating power. We had no choice but to adapt; to fight back to survive."

"But that makes you the same as them." Knuckles growled in response. "You want nothing more than to return your war-hungry mongrel people to this world for your own domination."

"On the contrare." The figure retorted. "Ix wishes for us to return peacefully as a whole, once we gain enough of Eggman's trust in order to get him out of the way."

"And piss off the hound thing that's his lackey?" Knuckles shot back. "The same one, mind you, who killed Sonic and Sash?"

"I've already got a theory on how to 'neutralize' him, let's call it." The figure spoke. "However, in order to do this, I'll need that Master Emerald of yours..."

"Not. On. Your. Damn. Life." Knuckles growled. "There is no way in hell I am handing over a stone so sacred and powerful from within my ancestors over to a bunch of power-hungry pirates like yourself!"

"..." The figure would be silent. "What if I told you... I know what it's like to be in your position?"

"Bull. Shit." Knuckles fired back. "You can't possibly know what it's like to be the last of echidnas."

"But you're not." The figure spoke.

"PROVE IT!" Knuckles yelled, the clearing going quiet as he glared down the figure with ferocity and rage in his eyes.

"..." The figure remained silent for a while. "...very well." The figure spoke, reaching back and pressing something on the back of the helmet it wore. A slow hiss came from a depressurizing sound as soon the helmet lost its shape and folded away into a headband above the figure's face. Knuckles would recoil in shock; starign right back at him was the face... of another echidna, tomato red fur with peach accents and lilac eyes.

"Y-you're..." Knuckles breathed, in a state of shock.

"An echidna as well?" The figure replied, it's voice feminine. "Yes. Yes I am. And not just myself. The rest of the Nocturnous as well."

"..."

"Look, I know you feel it's hard to trust me." The figure spoke. "But I know Ix has good intentions. We just need that Emerald."

"..." Knuckles was conflicted now. On one hand... could he really trust someone working under Eggman's power? But on the other... if the Noctunous were truly only using Eggman as a means to return to Mobius, that means he wouldn't be the only echidna anymore...

"I'm willing to give you time to think over your desicion, alright?" The female echidna spoke. "It doesn't have to be right this instant."

"...I'll have to think on it a bit." Knuckles spoke. "I'm still don't completely trust what your motive could really be... but I'll consider it. On one condition."

"And that is?" The echidna responded.

"You leave my Resistance Crew out of this." Knuckles answered, his fists tightening. "This little issue is between you and me, understood?"

"You have my word." The Echidna spoke, crossing over her heart. "I will make sure no physical harm comes to your crew."

"You better keep your promise." Knuckles spoke, his eyes narrowing.

"I will." She spoke, before her armor's bracelet started beeping. "...that must be base. I'll need to go now."

Knuckles nodded. "We'll meet again?"

"Maybe." The echidna said, starting to walk off.

"By the way..." Knuckles spoke. "Never got your name."

"Shade." The echidna responded. "Shade Anino."

"Knuckles." Knuckles answered back. "Knuckles Pugni."

Shade would nod. "See you." She said, before she took off into the forest away from the clearing. Knuckles would remain stood there for a bit, pondering over the events that just unfolded before him before a buzzing came from his wrist, breaking his concentration. He then pulled back on the wrist collar of his glove, hitting a button on a comm unit to open the channel.

"Knuckles?" Amy's voice rang over the unit. "Why am I getting a trace of your location on Angel Island's Mushroom Hill Zone?"

"Just came here to double-check something." Knuckles answered. "Everything alright?"

"Why didn't you tell us where you were going?!" Amy responded. "Everyone over her got worried sick of your disappearance!"

"I'll be on my way back, don't worry." Knuckles spoke. "I'll be there in an hour."

"Alright." Amy said, before hanging up the transmission. Knuckles sighed before he took back off for the base...

* * *

Meanwhile, the female echidna would soon head to the edge of the island before hitting something on her wrist, a small dimensional rift opening up in front of her. She sighed lightly before stepping through, the scenery around her changing before she arrived back on the main base of Nocturne. Large cyan crystal spires connected to dark metal plating towered above on the higher sections of the island floating in the void. A massive pyramid-like structure sat at the top, outstretched spires to it side as if to channel something. Echidna statures glared down from multiple angles as the fortress scaled upwards. Red-hot molten rivers of iron flowed through and off the island into the massive void below; massive gears churned and clanked as the productions worked away at the internal factories of producing more of their Gizoid creations. Other Nocturnous soldiers would be seen roaming the walkways interconnecting the areas together.

Shade would sigh, reactivating her helmet as it reformed around her face, waiting for it to fully convert before she started moving through the floating fortress. Several other Nocturnous troops would stop and salute to her as she passed, to which she would merely wave them off and have them return to their posts. She'd do this for a bit as she walked across the walkways before she heard a certain voice.

"W-W-WELL HELLO AGAIN FRIE-END, GYAHAHAHA!" A robotic voice cackled, causing the echidna to look up at a higher walkway. "WH-WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG T-TO REPORT BACK? PLAYIN' HOOKY WH-WHILE BOSS MAN SLAVES AWAY?!"

Shade would sigh upon seeing the crested orange and tangelo Gizoid looking down at her, his blue optics flickering every now and then along with his head twitching every so often. "No Scylla, I just had to take care of some unfinished business."

"OOOOHOHOHHOHHO! WH-WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS?!" Scylla cackled. "Y-YA HAVIN' SOME OFF-PROPERTY AFFAIRS ARE YA?! GAHAHAHAHA!"

"It's not your business Scylla." Shade growled. "Now, I have important logs to tend to, so if you don-"

"EEEHEHEEHE, BUT I DO MIND!" Scylla interrupted her. "A-AFTER ALL, Y-Y-YOU KNOW I'M YOUR SUPERIOR, AND AS SO, I-I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME!"

Shade gritted her teeth. "Look, I was just doing my own reconnaissance mission. Now kindly buzz off."

"OOOO-OOOOOHH! WH-WHAT KIND OF RECONNAISSANCE MISSION?!" Scylla asked, much to Shade's dismay. "D-DID YOU GET TO T-T-TEAR MORE OF THOSE FLESHS-SACKS APART?!"

"No, I didn't." Shade growled. "It was strictly a rec-"

"C-C-C'MON NOW, YOU WOULDN'T L-LIE TO YOU-UR SUPERIOR WOULD YOU?! GYAAHAHAHA!" Scylla cackled, his head twitching again as his optics flickered. "N-N-NOW, TELL UNCLE SCYLLA WHAT YOUR RECON M-M-MISSION HAD!"

"Enough, Scylla." Another robotic voice said, before a cerulean crested Gizoid walked onto the scene. "You do know the Imperator does not tolerate harassment of the Procurator."

"AWWWW, C-C-C'MON CHARYB!" Scylla responded. "SHADEY HERE WON'T T-T-TELL ME WHAT SHE'S B-BEEN UP TO OUTS-SIDE OF HER MISSION H-HOURS! I BET SH-SHE'S DOING SOME REALLY CRAZY SHIT! GYAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"Scylla, please." Charyb responded, calm and collected about the ridiculous Gizoid in front of him. "Stand down and return to your post. The Procurator here has clearly had a rough day."

"A-A-AWWWW, YOU'RE N-NO FUN!" Scylla moped. "F-F-FINE. I'LL JUST GO FIND SOMEONE ELSE T-TO PLAY WITH! SEE YA, NYEAAHAHAHAHA!" And with that the orange Gizoid seemed to spaz out as it bounded away from the two.

Shade would sigh. "Thank you, Charyb." She responded, relieved.

"Anything for you, milady." Charyb responded, bowing slightly. "I couldn't just stand idly by and let Scylla harass you like that."

"I appreciate the assistance." Shade spoke. "Any word from the Imperator on what our next move is?"

"That, I'm sad to say, is a negative." Charyb merely responded. "He's gone silent after our work at the doctor's Arsenal Pyramid back on Mobius. He may be planning something major."

"I won't disturb him if that's what it means." Shade responded. "I can understand if he's stressed right now."

"And why wouldn't he be?" Charyb responded. "With how this plan needs to be unfolded, the slightest miscalculation could result in our loss."

"Well... let's just hope that doesn't happen." Shade nodded. "You are dismissed now Charyb."

"Understood, milady." Charyb responded, bowing slightly again before walking off. Shade would sigh before heading for the quarters chambers of the base...

* * *

"THERE you are!" Amy spoke as Knuckles came through the main door into the Resistance Base. "Good lord, what were you thinking as our leader?!"

"Amy, relax." Knuckles said. "I had the entire situation under control; there was no problem with where I went."

"I hope." Amy countered. "Why'd you head back to Angel Island? The Master Emerald's here; there's no strategic reason for either side to claim the island at this point. If we claim it, we're sitting ducks, and Eggman can't claim it because it's of no use to him without the Emerald."

"It was for personal reasons." Knuckles stated. "Everything's fine, don't worry. We'll be plotting our next plan within the next hour or so. Everything going alright?"

"I'll be contacting the Avalician Resistance Base soon to see how well or bad they're holding up." Amy spoke, walking back over to the monitor, typing into the keyboard. "Once I talk to them, we can plan our next move."

"Good." Knuckles spoke. "I'm gonna look over the Master Emerald for a bit, okay?"

"Alright..." Amy spoke as she continued to type, soon establishing a connection with the Avalice base...

* * *

 ** _It appears part of Eggman's allies are not all that they seem. With Shade offering a deal to Knuckles, will the echidna take it or will he refuse? More importantly, how is the base on Avalice holding up in this crisis? Tune in next time for the beginning of Act 2 with Chapter 8: "Bloodied Scarves"..._**


	9. Chapter 8: Bloodied Scarves

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 2  
_**

 _Chapter 8: Bloodied Scarves_

* * *

"And everything should be going stable over there?" Amy's voice asked through the monitor.

"About as stable as we can possibly have it." A female voice responded, belonging to a white snowcat wearing a black piece of cloth across her bust with straps at the center going around her neck and very short black compression shorts and a loose-fitting belt around her waist, with her white bangs going over one eye. "Eggman's robots are still running rampant across this entire section of Avalice. We haven't even been able to get anywhere more outside of Shang Mu with how dense the bots are around here."

"The Sentinels that bad, Neige?" Amy asked, concerned.

"Worse than you might think." Neige responded. "It's hell out here."

"Just try to keep holding out." Amy spoke. "We can try to get help sent over but I don't know if we can."

"If at least any could be sent, it'd be well appreciated." Neige answered. "I'll report back to the others and my Head Scarf and see what we can do in this situation."

"Alright." Amy spoke, about to end the communication.

"Hey..." Neige spoke, causing Amy to pause. "I'm... sorry to hear about what happened to Sonic and Sash..."

"..." The hedgehog fell silent. "...it's fine." She spoke. "Just be careful nothing the same happens to your group, okay?"

"Understood." The snowcat replied, before she cut the communications, sighing heavily. Stress had been heavily mounting on her as she soon turned and left the room and started walking down the corridors of the underground base, the crimson halls lined with piping and other doors with other members of the Red Scarves. Neige would be uneasy as she roamed the hallways before she hit the meeting room, swinging the doors open. Within the room were some of the other members of this Resistance Base on Avalice; The leader of the Red Scarves; a figure of power, the long black coat she wore hid most of her figure, but underneath was a pair of black combat boots, form fitting black pants and a black tanktop. A long, worn red scarf was around her neck, trailing down her back. The major noticable feature was the large golden helmet the figure wore, several parts molded into horns and a hole at the back, a long, dark lavender tendril coming out of the back of the helmet, with a bit of dark lavender hair wrapped around the base of it. The front of the helmet had a single round opening, tinted black so it was impossible to see into it. Another was a half-panda-half-cavy wearing a black vest and white pants with red shades, messing with a deck of playing cards and not paying attention to the surroundings at the current moment in time.

"Ah, Neige." The Head Scarf, Natalya, spoke. "Any word from the Mobius base about updates?"

"Well, some good news, thankfully." Neige spoke, taking a seat at the table. "They've managed to get Milla back from Eggman's prison, thanks to that new rookie we sent over to them."

"Good." Natalya spoke. "At the very least we have one of AvaMerc who's survived this crisis. Any word on Carol and her friend?"

"Still no sights." Neige answered, her ears drooping. "It almost seems like they disappeared off the faces of Mobius and Avalice once they heard news of what happened to Sonic and Sash..."

"I hope they are found..." Natalya responded, a disappointed look in her eyes.

"Well, can't do shit about that until we get a lead on where they are." The half-panda spoke, shuffling his cards. "Otherwise we'd be wasting nothing but time, energy, and resources."

"Indeed." Natalya spoke. "For now, we should focus on liberating the kingdoms, then expand to liberate the rest of our planet."

Neige would be silent for a bit as she pulled up a holographic map of the entirity of Shang Mu, showing all of the areas and districts in a real-time view, as several massive Death Egg Sentinels were roaming the city, and several destroyed and collapsed roadways, except for the main one of Phoenix Highway, which was the biggest one for traffic through the city. "Most of our normal supply routes above ground are destroyed throughout the entire city, no thanks to those Sentinels. Among that, we have an unspecified amount of casualties throughout the area from the attacks of those Sentinels alone, and possibly more unaccounted for from the collapses of the roadways."

"What about through the sewer system?" Spade asked.

"Those passages are still relatively intact, but there's fears there could be a pipe bursting and flooding the passages." Neige spoke. "Unless we can get them patched up and secured, we're going to be completely cut off from any resources."

"Then those are to be our first priorities." Natalya spoke, pinpointing the key points of locations across the underground system. "These areas are where the pipes are at their weakest links, correct?"

"Indeed." Neige spoke. "These are the points of interest."

"Then we need to have our groups sent out and seal off those pipes." Natalya spoke. "Spade, you and Neige deal with the pipes and seal them off before any possible bursts happen. Understood?"

"Roger." Spade spoke, before a rumble occurred above ground, causing as distress voicemail came over the comms.

"H-Head Scarf!" The voice spoke. "We've got two bogeys out on Pheonix Highway! They're taking out everyone there an- GUAAAAAAG!" The transmission was cut off short as what sounded like an explosion came from the message. Natalya tensed up as the message ended, Spade and Neige looking onward at her.

"Head Scarf?" Spade asked.

"Keep to your objective." Natalya growled, getting up from her seat. "I'll sort out that issue on the highway."

"By yourself?!" Neige gasped. "Please, Head Scarf, I don't mean to doubt your combat prowess, but surely you can't be letting this anger go to your head!"

"I never said I was going myself..." Natalya spoke. "Now get to your tasks."

Spade would nod. "Yes, Head Scarf." He spoke as the dragon left the room. "Neige, let's go."

The snowcat hesitated, before nodding and following Spade out of the HQ into the tunnels...

* * *

Low growls would come from the training room as a figure worked away at beating the everliving tar out of one of the training dummies. The figure was a fiery vixen with blazing orange fur, with red hair that tapered to pink at the tips. She was wearing a black halterneck crop top and navy blue capris along with black boots with red laces, along with fingerless gloves and a red scarf. A growl ripped through her throat as she soon delivered a smashing kick to the tip of the dummy, bisecting it messily in half as both sides fell away. She panted heavily, glaring down at the dummy before a slow clapping came from the corner of the room.

"Well, good job destroying another dummy." The voice spoke, stepping out of the shadows to reveal a silver-furred hare with a black crew cut, wearing a red vest and green cargo pants with black boots. "Hope you realize those things aren't cheap."

"Hey, how else am I gonna keep my edge?" The vixen shot back. "After all, Head Scarf won't let us go out on our own and trash those bots."

"Because we are some of her highest valued Scarves." The hare responded. "We can't risk ourselves getting killed out of missions."

"Ain't that the thrill of the missions though?" The vixen said, her tail swishing slowly as soon the door to the training room opened, Natalya walking in.

"H-Head Scarf!" The hare spoke, he and the vixen standing at attention to the presence of their superior.

"At ease." Natalya spoke, causing the two Scarves to release tension. "Consider yourselves lucky; you've got a big mission today."

"Finally." The vixen spoke. "About time."

"Hanna, please." The hare spoke, before looking at Natalya. "Please, Head Scarf, continue."

"Thank you." The dragon spoke, before pacing in front of the two. "Recently, we've received word of two metallic figures attacking Phoenix Highway now, causing havoc and rampaging like they own it. I would hope you two are aware that if we lose the highway, transportation out of the city is completely crippled due to that mad doctor having control over air transport."

"You want us to neutralize this threat?" The hare asked.

Natalya would nod. "If that road falls, the city's transportation is crippled. Get there and stop the interference with as little casualties as possible. Understood?"

"Understood, Head Scarf." The hare spoke, nodding. "We will get on it as soon as possible."

"Good." Natalya spoke, walking to the door. "Your mission is effective immediately. Dismissed." And with that, she walked out of the room without another word.

Hanna smirked. "About time we got a mission. Ready to head out there and bust some tin asses wide open?"

"Hanna." The hare spoke. "You realize we can't afford to screw up this mission. There are lives at stake here."

"You say that as if I didn't know of it Rob." The vizen said, brushing her hair back a bit. "It's a simple three step plan. Step One: Get to the Highway. Step Two: Beat the shit out of those robots. Step Three: Return to base. Easy."

Rob would deadpan. "If you say so..." He spoke, shaking his head. "Let's just get going. We'll grab our ATVs from the launch bay and we'll head out for the highway."

Hanna would smirk. "Time to scrap some metal ass." She spoke, she and Rob leaving the training room.

* * *

Footsteps would echo throughout the sewer tunnels as Spade and Neige would reach their first pipe, and not a moment too soon. The sewer water was already starting to leak out of the piping hard, and any more leaking could cause a major flooding. With quick instinct, Neige shot a blast of ice at the pipe, freezing it shut and stopping the water for the moment.

"Alright, you sure that'll hold?" Spade spoke.

"It should." Neige spoke. "I've got the melting point of that ice set high; nothing's going to melt it unless it's a direct blast of heat straight to it."

"Alright." The half-cavy spoke. "Let's move onto the next one. There sh-" He was soon interrupted as he was struck with a gush of water from behind. He growled, looking behind him in anger. "What the hell?!"

Behind him was a watery figure, a white metal head with piercing lime optics staring it down, accompanied by several other of the floating metal heads behind it.

"Wh-what the hell are those things?!" Neige yelled.

"Artifical Chaos..." Spade growled. "Should've known that fat man would have those things after us. Don't stand around, fight!"

Neige would nod as the humanoid one lunged at her. She reacted almost immediately and froze its body, causing it to disconnect from the frozen chunk and the chunk to fall to the ground, shattering on impact. The head garbled some sort of angry techspeak before summoning in more water from the sewer they were beside.

"Dammit!" Neige cursed to herself before rolling out of the way of a slice from an Artifical Chaos tentacle. Soon enough she grabbed one of the tentacles that swiped at her and froze it, freezeing the water again as the metallic head disconnected from it. Neige took this as a chance and swung the body right into the head, the hard ice cracking the white metal casing open, showing its circuitry. Neige took the oppotunity and quickly flicked an icicle spike at the exposed head, the shard piercing it as it fell to the ground and broke apart.

Spade would soon slice open another head of a Artifical Chaos drone with his cards as it fell to the ground before being grabbed from behind by another one, trying to be absorbed into the creature itself, before he suddenly felt very cold as the water body froze. Soon enought the head of the robot would be sliced in half horizontally as it fell to the floor, the ice crumbling.

"Thanks for the save." Spade spoke.

"Anytime." Neige responded. "We need to get to that next pipe though. With all these... these things here, there's no telling that they might be deliberately trying to burst those next pipes."

"Agreed." Spade said as the two took off towards their next target, but a groan could be heard from within the sewers as... _something_ seemed to be coming after them.

"You heard that?" Neige asked.

"Sounds like a sewer creature..." Spade responded, before a massive hulking fish serpent lept out of the sewer water. "Well shit, a Shade Eel. I though they were all taken care of a while back."

"Given that hound thing running around?" Neige spoke. "Safe to bet it's responsible for this thing."

"Then maybe we can use this to our advantage." Spade spoke, leaping from the side onto the Shade Eel. "With the speed this thing's swimming, we can use it to get to those pipes faster."

"Good thinking." Neige spoke, hopping on as she formed an ice lasso in her hand. "Allow me to drive." She said whipping it around the creature's jaw and yanking on it, causing it to rear up before continuing its breakneck swim forward.

"Much better transport for down here." Spade said, before his ear twitched. "Sounds like we got more company." He growled, brandishing his cards as several large silvery orbs with rockets started flying down the tunnel after them. Each one had a small vulkan cannon attachted to them, aimed at the Shade Eel as they opened fire.

"Super Turretuses, shit." Spade growled, brandishing his cards. "I'll keep them scrapped, you get us to the Pipes!"

"Make sure they don't shoot the Eel too much!" Neige spoke. "If they cause too much shots to it, it could cause it to become enraged and wreck the sewers!"

Spade would nod, brandishing his cards as he flung them at the flying turrets, each one going down after a couple of card blasts, but more soon spawning to take their places.

"There's too many of them!" Spade yelled. "We need a way to lose 'em!"

"Hang on then!" Neige yelled, cracking the reins around the Eel's mouth as it screeched and dove under the water. Spade was caught off guard as he clamed his eyes shut and held his breath as best he can while Neige guided the massive beast through the underwater tunnels and away from the horde of flying drones. It wasn't long before the Eel resurfaced next to the next burst pipe they needed to seal.

Spade coughed a bit. "Coulda given me a warning to hold my breath..."

"Sorry." Neige spoke. "Let's just get that next pipe sealed up."

Spade nodded as he and Neige got off the Eel to seal the pipe. "Wonder what's going on up on the surface..."

* * *

The roar of ATV engines were prevelant as the vixen and the hare made their way towards the highway that spanned over the entire city. Larger Death Egg Sentinels were already attacking the bigger buildings, causing them to collapse down onto the roadways. The ATVs would be maneuvering across the rubbled area as the two made their way towards Phoenix Highway, avoiding as much contact from Eggman Forces as possible.

"How close are we?" Hanna yelled over the roar of the ATV engine.

"Entry ramp is Fifty meters and enclosing!" Rob yelled back. "Keep your eyes open, we don't know what we're dealing with!"

"Oh please, like I'm concerned!" The vixen shouted, her ATV pulling ahead as more buildings collapsed. Of course, it wouldn't be far until the roar of other engines would soon start coming from behind them, soon several bi-wheeled mechs rearing up over the rubble and giving pursuit to the two ATVs.

"OH you've gotta be shitting me!" Hanna growled. "Not these damn Meteor Rollers!"

"Go for their wheels!" Rob yelled, unsheathing one of his sais. "They'll spin out!"

Hanna would growl, unsheathing one of her nunchaku as it spins in a flaming circle near her hand. "Well let's see 'em try to stop us!" She yelled soon slamming to the side of a Meteor Roller, the nunchaku on fire shredding through the tire of the Roller, causing it to spin out of control before crashing into another one, causing a chain explosion that threw several other ones into the air.

"Rob, over to you!" She yelled, drawing the attention of the hare on his ATV as he saw the blasted up Meteor Rollers. With a quick flick of his wrist he had flung his sai at the airborne mechs, piercing them like a shishkabob as they hit the ground, deactivated. Rob's ATV would soon roar by, picking up his sai out of the broken robot as he continued with Hanna towards the highway. Though Hanna would soon see a problem...

"Rob!" Hanna yelled. "The on ramp is destroyed! We can't get up there!"

' _Dammit!_ ' Rob thought to himself. "Without that ramp, we can't get up there! Aren't there any other ways up?!"

"Hold on!" Hanna said, making a hard right.

"Where are you going?!"

"I see an opportunity!" Hanna fired back, heading for a collapsed building.

"I know, and that's what worries me!" Rob fired back, following after the vixen as the ATVs started climbing up the collapsed building side. "What are you thinking?!"

"If we can't get on the ramp," Hanna yelled, soon having the ATV ramp off the building. "WE MAKE ONE!" She yelled, soon landing hard on the highway with her ATV, Rob following suit.

"Next time, can we do a suggestion that doesn't get us nearly killed trying to get to our objective?" Rob deadpanned at the vixen as they continued down the highway, avoiding the crashed and burning cars.

"Eh, probably not." Hanna responded. "Just keep moving."

Rob would roll his eyes as the two continued onwards towards the location of disturbance...

* * *

Screams of panic were heard as civilians were fleeing for their lives as the robotic kitsune and wildcat were tearing up the area. A magenta laser fired from the robotic kitsune's palm as explosions threw several soldiers into the air, where then they were impaled by magenta energy daggers thrown by the metal wildcat.

"Hmph, the prototype's abilities are working rather well!" The metallic feline said. "Look at them, they can hardly stand a chance!"

"It's pathetic, really." The synthetic kitsune spoke. "And here I thought our leaders would be giving us something more fun to do."

"Aw don't worry about them." The feline responded. "Just keep tearing them open; that should be more then enough to deflate their mor-" She stopped herself as she heard what sounded like a motor. "Do you hear that?"

"What is that?" The kitsune responded, both figures glancing around the area before the motor sound grew louder. The two didn't have time to react before the ATVs came out of nowhere from above, nearly flattening the two as the impact sent them sprawling.

"WHAT THE-" The metallic wildcat yelled before rerightening herself. "Alright, who the hell has the gall?!"

"I do, that's who." The vixen growled as Hanna and Rob stared down the two robots. "And quite frankly, you two are just insulting. Making robots out of AvaMerc? Now that's just trying to live up to too high a standard."

That phrase made the metallic kitsune insulted, a magenta orb formed in his hand. "You wanna repeat that?"

"Not worth repeating to terrorists like yourselves." Rob spat.

The wildcat hissed. "Oh you'll come to regret saying that..." She growled, brandishing several magenta energy blades. "You're going to die. You know that already. You're nothing compared to the Ruby's power."

"Blah blah blah power wank." Hanna mocked. "Just shut up and fight already, you're boring me."

The wildcat hissed, throwing a flurry of magenta energy daggers at Hanna. The vixen would play along and dodge roll out of the way of them before running ahead and cloaking her fist in flame, colliding it with the metallic wildcat's chassis. The synthetic foe slid back a fair amount from the impact before rushing forward at Hanna, claws extended to slice into Hanna's flesh. The vixen would start spinning her nunchaku as rings of fire appeared in their places as she soon charged at Metal Carol. The two clashed at the center as Hanna slammed her flaming nunchaku right into the wildcat's head, while she herself took claws to the abdomen. She growled in pain as she felt the blades pierce her flesh, but she slammed her fist into the wildcat's head before leaping back, blood dripping from her midriff.

The metallic feline's eyes would glow before throwing several sawblades from her tail at the vixen. Hanna soon lunged at the robotic wildcat, feeling the blade whiz by her cheek as she tackled the robotic wildcat to the ground, driving a flaming first straight into the robotic wildcat's optics. The wildcat hissed before throwing the vixen off, before leaping up into the air as a magenta sheen covered her. She roared in anger before summoning massive magenta blades, throwing them all at the vixen. Hanna would dodge out of the way of the incoming blades, soon trying to press an advance back onto the Metal Carol.

Rob meanwhile would be dodging past the lasers from the metallic kitsune, leaving him in a pickle of dodging room as one singed the ground right by him. He clutched tightly to his sai before leaping for the kitsune, embedding the blade into the robotic skin. Metal Tails would flail his harm wildily to try and shake Rob off, but the hare held firm, soon delivering a kick straight to the synthetic vulpine's abdomen. He roared in pain before smacking Rob across the face, causing him to lose focus and lose his grip on his embedded sai. The synthetic vulpine would then throw his blade back at him at high velocity; it was lucky for him it didn't impale him as he managed to dodge the projectile.

Rob soon grabbed a metallic hubcap off of a wrecked car and flung it at Metal Tails like a sawblade. Metal Tails would whack it back with his tails at Rob, who then whacked it with his sai back at the metallic kitsune, the hubcap slicing through the metal forearm like butter. The kitsune hissed in pain before rushing Rob, sparking forearm pulled back and coated in magenta lightning as he soon jabbed it into the hare's side. Rob screamed in pain before stabbing the twin-tailed titanium terror in the head with his sai. The kitsune would back off on his assault before ejecting the sai from his head, it skidding along the ground back to Rob.

"You've got a lot of nerve..." The metal kitsune would growl, sparks coming from the pierced area on his head.

"I could say the same to you." Rob spat back.

The two rushed at eachother again, the contact sending sparks flying everywhere. Rob's eyes narrowed as he soon lept to the side, causing the metallic kitsune to crash into a destroyed vehicle. The kitsune didn't like this as he soon had his remaining hand coated in magenta energy, lifting the car along with several others as they were hoisted into the air. Rob tensed up as they were soon fired off at the hare; Rob quickly acted as the vehicles were turned to scrap metal upon collision with the road. Rob used these as stepping stones as he went after the synthetic vulpine, soon making a leap off the last car and drop-kicking the bot square in the face. That did enough to set off the robotic kitsune as he soon charged straight at the hare. Rob had baited him, now all it took was one well-timed attack...

Rob would then slice his sai at just the right angle as he dodged the charging kitsune, time seeming to slow down as the metallic kitsune slowed to a halt... then fell to shambles as Rob looked back on the rubble. "One down..." He said as Hanna and Metal Carol rolled in a pile right by him. "One to go."

"You incessant furball!" Metal Carol hissed, summoning a large amount of magenta daggers, all aimed at Hanna. "JUST DIE!"

Hanna would growl as the volley of magenta energy knives were flung in her direction. After a quick dodge roll she flung a fireball straight at Metal Carol, who smacked away the attack with ease before rushing at Hanna. The vixen tensed up before cloaking her fist in flame, waiting for Metal Carol to draw near before she drove her fist forward, enacting a flaming punch that drove straight through the metallic feline's head, causing it to collapse and deactivate.

Hanna would pant, exhausted. "Like I said..." She breathed. "Power wank."

"You alright Hanna?" Rob asked, moving to the vixen's side.

"A little 'burnt' out, but I'll be fine." Hanna responded. Rob groaned at the pun causing Hanna to smirk a bit. "Either way, just to make sure..." Hanna would walk over to the metal wildcat and crush her boot into its head, completely destroying it.

"Good call." Rob spoke, walking over to the synthetic kitsune and crunching its head in with his own boot... but then would notice what appeared to be a small magenta crystal-like object in the robot's abdomen. "Hm?"

"Ya find something Rob?" Hanna asked.

"I think so..." Rob said, pulling the magenta crystal out of the robot's abdomen. "Now what is this?"

"What's what?" Hanna said, walking over next to the hare's side. "Now what kind of robot would be going around with some kind of jewelry?"

"It's not a Chaos Emerald, I can tell you that much." Rob said. "I'm not entirely sure exactly what this thing is..."

"Should we bring it back to base?" Hanna asked.

"We probably should." Rob said, pocketing the stone before activating his comm unit. "Head Scarf Natalya, Rob here." He spoke. "The metallic threat has been neutralized."

"Excellent work." Natalya spoke. "Minimal casualties?"

"As minimal as we could make it." Hanna responded. "We've also managed to grab ahold of some sort of stone. Shall we bring it back for analysis?"

"Yes." Natalya spoke. "Make sure it is intact. Now report back immediately."

"Understood Head Scarf." Rob said, ending the comm unit call.

"Back to base?" Hanna asked.

"Pretty much." Rob said, heading for his ATV. "We'll head on back and try to make sense of the situation going on. Have Natalya send this thing to the R&D sector and see exactly what it is."

"Better than nothing in my book." Hanna said, hopping onto her ATV. "Let's go."

Rob nodded, and then the two took off for the base...

* * *

"Ah, welcome back you two." Natalya spoke as Hanna and Rob entered into the building. "The stone?"

"Right here." Rob said, handing the small stone to Natalya. "This was inside one of those metallic doubles."

"I'm thinking it may be related to those magenta energy attacks they were using on us." Hanna responded. "After all, it's gotta be something powerful if that fat fuck would give something like these to them."

"We'll be sending this to the R&D department for investigation." Natalya spoke, setting the stone down on the back cabinet as she turned back to the two. "You've done fine work today you two, but I feel there may be more for you to do."

"I'm game." Hanna spoke. "What else is wrong?"

"I've not yet heard word back from Spade and Neige yet on their work." Natalya spoke. "I'm concerned, as they should have been back by now..."

"You want us to go and investigate?" Rob asked.

"If you could, please." Natalya responded.

"Eh, no problem." Hanna said. "Where are they anyways?"

"The sewers, repairing pipes that are in danger of bursting." Natalya responded, turning away from the two. "I need a report from them, understood."

"Understood, Head Scarf." Rob spoke, bowing. "We shall be on the mission immediately."

"Good." Natalya responded. "Dismissed."

Hanna and Rob would exit the room, leaving Natalya to herself.

* * *

"DAMMIT!" Spade yelled, dodging out of the way of a massive hulking spikeball. "Who the hell is this guy and how did he follow us here?!"

"I don't know!" Neige responded. "Just keep fighting!" She yelled, soon firing a volley of icicles at the assailant; a lanky pink-skinned creature controlling a gigantic Orbinaut-class Badnik.

"Just hold still while I crunch you like a bug!" The being yelled. "Good ol' King Orbi here oughta mash you into next week's hamburger!"

Spade would growl as another massive spikeball was thrown at him, it rumbling across the ground before smashing into a pipe, releasing steam into the sewers as the visions of Spade and Neige were clouded in the area.

"Shit!" Neige yelled. "With all this steam I can't use my ice affinity! There's too much humidity in the air!"

The figure merely cackled like an insane man. "Precisely my point! An even playing field!"

"How is this even?!" Neige yelled.

"All advantage to me, _none for you!_ " The figure yelled, the Orbinaut now unleashing a massive attack brigade of spikeballs on the two. With thick steam, Spade was having a hard time dodging the incoming spikeballs with only a few seconds to react to each one flying his way. Neige was struggling more, barely getting clipped with each spikeball thrown her way before getting slammed hard with one of them, knocking the wind out of her as one of the sharp spikes had stabbed her in the stomach and slammed her against the wall. Neige could barely move or speak as the spikeball was forcefully removed from her stomach, the blood slowly oozing out of the hole. Her fingers would merely twitch as her pupils dilated.

"Neige!" Spade yelled, glaring daggers at the figure that attacked her. "You're going to be dead meat." He growled, brandishing a flurry of cards before throwing them right at the Orbinaut. The attacks would connect with the massive orb-shaped robot, but they would only become stuck in the metallic robot's frame while the figure laughed crazily.

"Whassa matter, don't got any more of your fancy card tricks to use?" The figure taunted, his cyan tongue hanging out like a rag as his eyes twitched, staring down Spade. "Maybe go and join your friend!" Another flurry of spikeballs were launched at the half-cavy, him trying to dodge more and more as the kept colliding with the walls, causing them to crumble a bit.

"Are you trying to bring this entire place down on top of us?!" Spade yelled.

"Of course!" The figure yelled back. "Now get buried! Six feet under! GYAAAAAHAHAHAHHAAHAA!" At that point the spikeballs would be rumbling across the walls of the sewer, trying to cave the entire place in as they were hurtling for half-cavy clamped his eyes shut... and then heard a violent snap as the spikeballs never reached him. He had reopened his eyes to soon see the familiar figures of Hanna and Rob were now there, the figure on the ground, dead from a snapped neck.

Spade would sigh in relief before rushing over to Neige, Hanna and Rob seeing this and following suit. "Ooooh, That's a nasty one." Hanna commented.

"Looks like a major intestine piercing." Rob said. "Get her wrapped; we need to get her back to HQ pronto."

Spade nodded, getting some medical tape out and wrapping up the wound as tightly as he can before hoisting the snowcat onto his back. "Let's get going. The longer we stand around here the more likely we're going to get ambushed."

Hanna and Rob would nod, before the three took off back to base with an injured Neige...

* * *

 **With an injured ally from a recent assailant, it looks like the Avalice side of the Resistance is struggling just as much as the Mobius side is. However, with the new stone in their posession, will they be able to turn the tide of the battle? Or are things only going to draw worse and worse as time goes on? Stay tuned next time for Chapter 9: _"Cat's out of the Bag"_...**


	10. Chapter 9: Cat's out Of The Bag

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 2  
_**

 _Chapter 9: Cat's out of the Bag_

* * *

Meanwhile, off in a further south section of Avalice, things were going down in an off-sector part of Pangu Lagoon... or at least, what looked like it. Truth be told it looked like some sort of weird mashup between Pangu Lagoon and some sort of tropical coastside, large palmtrees sprouting out of the ruins where they shouldn't be and larger stone structures either crunched or merged with the rocky cliffsides of the tropics. And all the while, it seemed as though Badniks were crawling about the place, seemingly looking for someone in the area as one of them were holding onto what appeared to be a lavender gem, sparking with a magenta colored energy...

"So, remind me again why we're transporting this thing again?" An Egg Pawn asked. "Aren't these useless when they're corrupted by Ruby Energy anyways?"

"Yes, but the Doctor doesn't want these falling into the Resistance's hands, understood?" A gold leader Egg Pawn spoke. "If they find some way to purify those stones, who knows what they could do with them!"

"Good point..." The Egg Pawn responded. "Then why not just send them to Null Space?"

"Are you an idiot?" A Crabmeat said from the back of the group. "If you have Infinite send those gems to Null Space, you're essentially shooting ourselves in the foot at that rate since the hedgehog and dragon are trapped in there!"

"So? How would that be a problem?" The Egg Pawn said. "It's not like they would have anything in Null Space to restore those Emeralds anyways!"

"Yeah, and remember what the Doctor told us when he programmed us?" The gold Egg Pawn shot back. "Keep AvaMerc and the Emeralds separated at all costs ever since the Shattered World failure."

"What, you think they're gonna be able to get to a Master Emerald or a Gaia Temple in a void of nothing?" The Egg Pawn fired back. "As if! There's no way they could get one of those things there!"

"Just shut up and walk." The Crabmeat said, before the gold Egg Pawn halted the group of Badniks.

"Hold up." The gold one spoke. "My scanners are picking up an intruder."

"Here? Of all places?!" The other Egg Pawn said. "Dammit, did Zik accidentally let his prisoner escape?!"

"I don't know who this 'Zik' fellow is..." A new voice said, female in tone from an unknown location. "But... I don't exactly appreciate your kind treading around in my new territory. So I'll be giving you two options. Either you leave and leave that stone with you, ooooooor I turn you all into molten slag and take the stone myself."

The set of Badniks would be looking around the area, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice. "Show yourself!" The golden Egg Pawn said.

"..." The voice would be silent, not making a sound. "Well then..." The voice said, volleys of shots soon coming from nearby brush and shredding open a Crabmeat. "Sealed your fates yourselves by the looks of it. Don't worry though, I'll make sure it's quick..."

"Spread out and find this pussy, now!" The golden Egg Pawn commanded, several of the other Egg Pawns and Badniks moving out away from the transport to tack down the voice. The golden Egg Pawn would remain to guard the Emerald... that was until a crimson blade lodged into the back of it's metallic head, popping out the other side.

"Mistake number one, sending out the rest of your goons to try and come find me." The female voice said, revealing it to have belonged to a brighter green wildcat with darker green accents. She wore gold goggles and a black tight-fitting top with a red flame pattern, along with red shorts and darker crimson boots. A belt was around her waist with a set of grenades, and in her hands were two custom-made gunblade pistols, one of which was currently lodged in the gold Egg Pawn's head. "Second mistake," She pull the trigger, letting loose a vicious gunshot that basically tore the Egg Pawn's head open. "Letting me kill you." And with the destruction of the gold one, soon enough sounds of explosions would be coming off from away from the jungle.

"Never understood why that moron hooked up his gold ones to initiate synchronized destruction of the entire platoon." She spoke, soon looking over at the lavender gem, now on the ground next to an Egg Pawn carcass and picking it up. She examined it, looking carefully at the gemstone's cut, and the corrupted magenta energy around it... before sliding down her goggles and scanning over the stone, readings coming up on the insides of the lenses.

"Well, this one oughta fetch a hefty price on the market..." The feline said, pocketing the gem into a pack behind her before taking off away from the scrap site... though she wouldn't get far before a massive beetle-like mech would burst from the nearby trees, soon hovering in front of her as it was piloted by... an Eggrobo? No, it looked too big to be a normal Eggrobo, but it certainly had the same coloring as one, albeit a bit more grandiose and with a crest, along with a sceptre across it's back.

"Trying to get away now, are we?" The new foe said. "I'll have you know the Doctor doesn't take lightly to stolen contraband. Now I suggest if you don't want to be brutally and violently minced by this Egg Beetle's pincers, you'll hand over the Emerald. Now."

"Yeeeah, how about, _no_." The feline said, firing off a shot at the cockpit of the mech... only for the glass to slightly crack.

"Well, I tried being reasonable." The Eggrobo said. "But it seems you want death. So be it, by the King's orders." Soon enough the mech would lunge forward, the pincers cloaked in a blazing energy as they prepared to snap down on the feline. The feline was aware of this and dodged last-second, soon unloading several shots into the cockpit... only to find out a shield had been raised at the last minute. The Heavy King would be wagging a finger from the cockpit, earning a hiss from the feline. Soon out of the back of the Egg Beetle's abdomen, from tiny holes were missiles fired straight for the feline. The wildcat kept dodging and weaving out of the way, momentarily getting distracted by trying to scan over the mech for a weakness when a missile landed right beside her, throwing her off her guard and into a wall. She gritted her teeth in pain before moving out of the way by another barrage of explosives, just barely missing her and singing the tip of her tail.

"Run all you want furball, you're not cheating death." Heavy King stated again as the massive pincers went in for another smashing. The feline saw the shield lower and made a beeline for the cockpit, leaping over the pincers and delivering two concentrated burst shots straight to the dome, the cracks spreading wider now. The mech would shake as the feline was thrown off it, landing on her feet as the beast circled her, waiting to strike.

"You're starting to become a real pain..." Heavy King grumbled.

"The feeling's mutual." The feline spat back, her eyes continually darting for another opening. She would soon dodge a larger missile that was fired from the abdomen of the mech before diving underneath the cockpit of the mech, unloading another quick burst of shots right into its exposed underside. The mech roared in pain before collapsing right on top of the feline, Heavy King ejecting from the cockpit and landing a few feet away as the mech sat there collapsed, unmoving.

"...and dead by your own hubris, how fitting for something like you." Heavy King spoke, strutting over and taking his sceptre in his hands. "Now, if you don't mind; not that you would, you're dead, I'll be-"

"You're not going anywhere." A female voice said, before two blades burst through the top of the cockpit, before a violent jerk split the mech in half from the blades, a rather pissed wildcat in the middle of the carnage. "Why run away? The fun has just begun!" With that, she rushed forward at the Heavy King, ready to slice him open with her gunblades.

Heavy King would guard the incoming double-slice from the feline with his sceptre, where the blades would clash against as sparks flew from them. The wildcat growled as she lept back, soon firing several shot bursts right at the robot. She gritted her teeth before lunging at the King again, blades ready for an impalement through the head. Heavy King would again use his sceptre to counter, this time bashing the feline straight in the face, knocking her straight back onto the ground as he soon had the orb of his sceptre light up with a glowing magenta energy, soon blasting the feline square in the torso. The wildcat would be knocked backwards, colliding with a rock as her gunblades were thrown from her grip, her hands now clutching her gut as a smoldering indent was left there from the blast. The sceptre was pointed in her direction again as Heavy King spoke.

"As I said," King spoke, almost with a mocking tone. "Hubris. Now, unless you want to have your life ended right now before your own eyes, you have two options; either you hand over the Emerald and you get to go free for a while longer until meeting your inevitable demise in the next few days, or you come quietly and face criminal charges for defying Master Robotnik's rule and holding contraband against a high ranking leader of the Empire. The second comes with an offer for sparing through roboticization, so I would weigh your options before choosing your fate."

The feline gritted her teeth in pain, weighing the options back and forth in her mind. From her thoughts, neither would result in her keeping the stone, but at the same time she definitely did not want to give in to something like this robot now threatening to end her life right there and then. Reluctantly, she would take the Emerald out from the bag she had and hesitantly handed it to Heavy King, who took the gem immediately from her.

"You've made a wise move." The robot spoke. "Now, flee, otherwise I will be taking back that generosity."

The feline glared daggers at the robot before turning and running off into the brush, out of sight. Heavy King merely 'smirked' to himself before radioing in to home base.

"Master Robotnik?" Heavy King spoke. "I have good news."

"What is it King?" Robotnik's voice spoke from the other side.

"I have successfully intercepted a troublesome whelp and secured a Chaos Emerald she had stolen from Badnik Battalion 2573." King answered, not hearing the rustling of the leaves behind him. "The gem is secured, there will be no more interference."

"Excellent." Robotnik responded from the other end. "Hold your location, I'll just have Infinite drop by to pick up the stone. I already have him going around to scrap any of the remaining prototypes out anyways, so this should be a rather quick and painless stop."

"Understood." Heavy King responded.

"And one more thing." Robotnik said. "Contact your group and have Heavy Magician and Heavy Gunner head for that Shang Mu area and retrieve my Metal Tails and Metal Carol, would you? Some insubordinates decided to trash them."

"Understood." Heavy King responded. "King out." With that, the communication line ended as Heavy King soon opened up a communication line to two others. "Gunner, Magician, come in."

"Hear ya loud and clear boss!" One said, male.

"How can we assist you?~" The second voice said, female.

"You two are to head out for Shang Mu and retrieve two of our fallen comrades." Heavy King responded. "Master Robotnik needs them back for reasons classified, understood?"

"Roger that!" The male voice said.

"We'll please you, our leader.~" The female voice said, before the communication line severed again. Heavy King would remain stationary as his point... until he felt someone tackle him from behind, soon slicing at him with razor-sharp claws. The feline would his as she kept up her onslaught before being violently being thrown off into a palm tree, the force from colliding with the tree causing several coconuts to then fall and conk her on her head. She laid there, dazed a bit before she felt a metallic foot pressed squarely on her chest, the sceptre pointed directly at her face.

"So, you decided to be rebellious, did you?" Heavy King growled, his red optics glowing angrily. "Then death will be your senten-" He was then interrupted as a swift force knocked him away, the Chaos Emerald falling to the ground as a new figure had stood there; an aqua-colored dragon, decked out in a dark blue gi with golden trim, specifically tailored for her sturdy frame and tail, wrappings around her forearms with fingerless leather gloves, black leggings with wrappings around the forelegs as well as tied sandals that supported partway up her shins. Upon her head was a typical conical hat, and slung over her shoulder was a travel pack, and in her hands was a long bo staff.

"Need a hand?" The newcomer said as she stared down Heavy King, the feline getting to her feet.

"The assistance is a appreciated." The feline spoke, before the two rushed at the robot...

* * *

Back in his base of unknown whereabouts, the doctor smiled to himself as he looked over the maps of Mobius and Avalice. With the Ruby's power, he finally had what he had wanted for so long; _control_. Control over the world that had for so long evaded him, no thanks to Sonic and the rest of AvaMerc. But it didn't matter to him; they were out of the picture, completely. There would be no one able to stop him, only to stall for time until the Resistances met their untimely demise in just a few days. Of course, his thoughts were interrupted as a figure warped into the room. A familiar hound figure, that is.

"Ah, yes, Infinite." Robotnik spoke, swiveling around in his control chair to see the hound. "Good timing. How goes the destruction of the prototypes?"

 ** _"That, is what I came to you about, doctor."_** Infinite spoke. _**"It appears one of the prototypes you gave to your two robots that went to Shang Mu has... vanished, per se."**_

"What?!" The doctor yelled angrily.

"I can only assume that a piece of the Resistance has obtained it." Infinite spoke. "However, this should pose no problem to us. The ones you gave your Metal series was a more complete prototype, meaning only the machines and my kind could use it."

"Well, at least that's a relief." Robotnik spoke, sitting back in his chair. "With the prototypes all round up, we can enact our failsafe plan to eliminate them."

"Ah, yes, the one I devised." Infinite spoke. "However... why are you insistent on waiting a few days before unleashing the failsafe?"

"You yourself I thought would know this." Robotnik spoke, turning away. "The anticipation for the end, is worse than the end itself."

Infinite would smirk under that mask of his as he turned to leave. "I shall depart to retrieve the Emerald from King, as you wanted."

"Speaking of them, have you heard from Zomom ever since our meeting in Green Hill?" Robotnik spoke. "He hasn't seemed to respond recently."

"Hmmm... amusing." Infinite spoke. "I shall look into it." He spoke, starting to leave the room...

"One more thing." The doctor spoke. "Didn't you run into the escaped Milla back at the Mystic Jungle?"

"Yes, however, she is weak." The hound merely responded. "It is clear enough she was no match for me."

"Yes, but what is her status?" The doctor asked, annoyed.

"She's still alive, however, I'm certain what I have done to her will leave her traumatized for quite some time." Infinite spoke, now leaving the room.

Robotnik would just sit there, thinking over the recent events before turning his attention back to the monitor in front of him...

* * *

The metallic shell of Heavy King would hit the ground, both of the newcomer combatants panting heavily as they stared at the unmoving metal figure on the ground, before the feline smirked, sheathing her gunblades onto her back.

"Well, that was a fight." The feline spoke, before looking over to the draconic figure. "Appreciate the help."

"It was nothing." The dragon spoke, holding her bo at standby. "I'm surprised to find you out and about like this. Didn't your sister imprison you a while back?"

"Well, the whole 'fat man taking over the world and dropping nukes on everyone and everything' kinda destroyed the prison walls where I was held, so I just booked it." The feline responded. "How would you know that though?"

"...you don't recognize me?" The dragon said.

"Amnesia, dingus." The feline deadpanned at the dragon. "So give me a name."

"Merga." The dragon spoke.

The feline would think for a minute... and then a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh, you. Right, I think."

"Yes, me." Merga spoke. "It is bad, isn't it?"

"The amnesia? Sorta." The feline said. "I mean, maybe it's for the better I don't have my old personality I had before, I dunno."

"Hmmm." The dragoness spoke to herself, looking at the feline. "Well, despite our past... cooperation incident, let's put it... I feel it may be best if we set aside our differences and join forces for the time being. Survivability increases in numbers, after all."

The feline would just shrug. "I don't see why not." She spoke, extending a hand. "I think a reintroduction is in order. Corazon Tea, but just call me Cory, you?"

"Merga." Merga spoke, shaking Corazon's hand. "Hopefully our alliance will work out in the future."

"Same." Corazon said, walking over and picking up the gem next to the fallen Heavy King. "So... how much you think this thing would be worth?"

Merga's eyes would widen. "I hadn't realized that robot was in possession of one of the Chaos Emeralds..."

"Chaos Emeralds?" Corazon spoke. "What, this thing?"

"Yes, that." Merga spoke, taking the stone from the feline. "A gemstone of dangerous power if used in the wrong hands..."

"So why not just have us hold onto it?" Corazon spoke, shrugging. "Better we hold onto it and prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it."

"What we need to do is get this to Sonic and Sash." Merga spoke, looking at Corazon. "I have not seen them ever since I left on my own journey for finding myself, but they will need this if they are to succeed in whatever has happened."

"Whoawhoawhoa, hold on there." Corazon spoke, taking the Emerald back. "First of all, my goggles picked up a negative energy corrupted whatever normal energy is inside this thing." She said, pointing at the Emerald. "Even if we were to get it to my sis's group, it'd be useless unless there's a way to decorrupt it. Secondly, ever since the doctor's attack on both the worlds, my sis has gone off who knows where, meaning we'd expend so many resources just trying to track them down to begin with. For now, it be best we lay low until we can properly find a way for decorrupting."

"...I suppose that will do for now." Merga spoke. "Do you have an accommodation we could hide in?"

"Yeah, I got a hideout we could use." Corazon spoke. "Let's head there now, might be able to wait it out for now until we can safely move around."

"Lead the way then." Merga spoke as the feline led the dragoness away from the site... just a few minutes before the hound showed up. He would look upon the now deserted clearing with an unamused look on his face.

"Well then..." Infinite spoke, deadpanning at the scene before him. "Looks like there's some needed cleanup here... nnnnngh, that doctor is really pressing his luck with this..."

* * *

It wasn't long before the feline had led the dragon to her hideout, tucked away in a hidden alcove of the lagoon. Upon entry of the alcove, Merga would find it to be quite homely, looking like an old captain's cabin of an airship, albeit a bit more rustic. A makeshift hammock hung from two separate points on the rocks as the rocky ceiling held a couple of lanterns, illuminating the alcove a bit. Across from the hammock was a chest of sorts and a box containing what appeared to be maps and other charts, and then there'd be another box that would contain... what appeared to be an unhealthy amount of explosives of many kinds; dynamite, C4, cherry bombs...

"Oh dear..." Merga spoke. "How... much explosives do you have there?"

"Eh, don't worry." Corazon said. "There's no open flames that'll set those off; kept 'em all contained so that way I don't get blown to kingdom come in my sleep or that my shit gets exploded while I'm out."

"I see..." Merga spoke, sitting on a rock. "So... what have you been doing these past six months since you escaped?"

"Well, not a whole lot aside from laying low and doing some demolition." Corazon spoke, soon swinging into and lying in her hammock. "It gets kinda boring just sittin' around and twidlin' my thumbs. Gotta pass the time, y'know?"

"So you do that... by... destroying draconic architecture..." Merga spoke, confused by the feline's thought process.

"Well, for good reason." Corazon spoke. "Your lizard kind left a loooooot of old blueprints in these old rocks. Figured I'd grab 'em and then sell 'em off to any sorta history museums." She'd then be tossing the Chaos Emerald in her one hand, the other behind her head. "Was gonna do the same with this little pretty 'til you told me it was a Chaos Emerald."

"And you understand how valuable and dangerous that artifact is, don't you?" Merga spoke sternly.

"Well DUH." Corazon snapped back. "You think after what you told me about what these things do I'd just give it to a museum just to be sitting out in the open to be stolen?"

"No." Merga spoke.

"Well there ya go." Corazon spoke, looking back up. "So nothin' to worry about."

Merga would remain silent for a bit as Corazon continued to toss the Chaos Emerald to herself, the silence hanging in the air thickly until Merga broke it.

"So how long should we stay here for?" Merga spoke.

"About a couple hours, tops." Corazon suggested. "After that, we should be free to head out somewhere."

"If you say..." Merga spoke. "Would you mind if we tried heading for Shuigang?"

"What, that jade kingdom?" Corazon spoke. "Why there?"

"Call it a gut intuition." Merga responded, lying down against the wall. "I have a feeling we might be able to find something out there..."

"Suit yourself." Corazon said, staring back up at the ceiling. Little did the two know what would be in store for them...

* * *

 _ **With new allies found in the most unusual of places, the feline and the dragon forge a new unlikely alliance as they narrowly avoid contact from the Empire. But with the threat still looming high, the two will need to keep their heads and their Chaos Emerald on them if they want to survive. But the question is: will they? Find out along with the fate of the Scarves in Chapter 10: "Frozen Fears for Mad Gears"...**_


	11. Chapter 10: Frozen Fears for Mad Gears

**I know, a lot of you may have been wondering what had happened to this series as a whole. I started this story with such enthusiasm and then... nothing, for a good while. So what happened?**

 **Well, real life. In a worst way possible.**

 **A while back my mother had passed away and thus there was all the funeral stuff that had to be taken care of, but for that time, I was an emotional wreck. I couldn't even focus on my writing.**

 **I'll be slowly getting back into the swing of things, but my chapter production may be a bit more sporatic than usual, I hope everyone can understand.**

* * *

 ** _..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 2  
_**

 _Chapter 10: Frozen Fears for Mad Gears_

* * *

It was a tense silence as the three Scarves waited outside of the medical bay where they took Neige, not one of them wanting to say anything that could come off as tasteless to the other. It was a uneasy feeling, the tension being so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Soon enough one of the med staff, a feline of some sorts, would exit from the med bay, causing Spade to stand up. "Is she going to be alright?" He spoke.

The feline would nod her head. "She's lost a lot of blood however, and she'll need surgery for the intestine piercing, but she'll live." She spoke. "She'd like to see you, however."

Spade would nod, heading into the room while Hanna and Rob were left alone. The hare would sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness she's still alive..." Rob spoke. "It'd be a heavy morale blow if we lost her, especially for Spade."

Hanna would shrug. "Eh, she's a tough girl, I know she's survived worse." She said, leaning back. "She'll get through this."

"Through a punctured intestine?" Rob said. "I may not be a medical expert, but that's not necessarily something you walk away from."

"I never said she'd be walking a few hours after this." Hanna shot back. "It's moreso the fact I know she's gotten through tougher than this; she'll be fine."

Rob would be silent for a bit as he pondered over the thought... that was, before a familiar voice greeted them.

"Oh, Meanie! Fluff-tail!" The voice said as the green-furred lynx wearing the familiar teal skater dress ran up to them. "I-I heard about what happened! Are you guys okay?!"

"We're fine, Maria." Hanna spoke. "What about you? Are you still fine?"

The lynx nodded in response. "It's been insane though! There's so much destruction from that meathead's giant robots across the kingdoms!"

"It's disheartening, really." Rob spoke. "There's falling from grace, and then there's nosediving into a pit. And clearly enough from his last defeat, Eggman is the one doing the nosediving and catching us in his wake."

"And he's not gonna stop until we're all taken down with him?" Maria said.

"Definitely seems like it." Hanna said, looking up at the ceiling. "What I'm more concerned about is that hound thing that's allied with Eggman..."

"Why's that?" Rob asked.

"You've heard about what that thing can do." Hanna said. "It's the thing that singlehandedly took down both Sonic and Sash, remember?"

Maria's ears would droop. "I remember hearing about that... you think they're at least at rest now?"

"If they are, hopefully the ancestral spirits are guiding them well..." Hanna spoke, silence falling among the three before the loudspaker blared.

"Hanna Skarlett, Rob Stiil, Maria Shanmao, please report to the Head Scarf chambers immediately." The voice over the loudspeaker said before it shut off. The three would look to eachother before Hanna and Rob got up, starting to walk off towards the main chambers...

Natalya would be there, her back turned to the door as a knock came to it. "Come in." She merely spoke as the three Scarves entered into the room, the door shutting behind them. "First of all, Hanna, Rob, I would like to thank you for your efforts in stopping that attack on Phoenix Highway; you've saved a lot of lives out there."

Hanna would nod. "It was our pleasure Head Scarf." She spoke, bowing.

"I'd also like to thank you for getting Neige back here when you could." Natalya spoke. "I'm afraid she wouldn't have lasted long enough to get back had it not been for your efforts."

Rob would nod, getting to one knee. "We're grateful we were able to find her in time." He spoke. "I couldn't even imagine the blow to the Scarves morale if she passed..."

"It would have been severe..." Natalya spoke. "Especially considering she's our communications expert right now for our side of the Resistance."

"Indeed..." Rob spoke, before Natalya continued. "However, I have a new assignment for you three, if you are willing to accept."

"Of course, you know I don't turn down any other opportunity for a mission!" Hanna responded. "What's the mission?"

"Paitence, Hanna." Natalya said, crossing arms. "I was just getting to explaining that."

Rob would sigh, pinching his forehead before Natalya started.

"Recently our numbers in Shuigang have lost transmission with us during their hiding out in order to try and overthrow the occupation there. What's worse, the abnormal snow weather patterns there are interrupting our signals to even try and get through to them now." Natalya spoke. "What's even worse, the way through normally is completely barricaded and frozen off, meaning there's no easy way to get into the city itself."

"So... how do we go about doin' this?" Hanna asked.

"That is where you three come in." Natalya responded. "There's an old entrance into an underground bunker near the back of the kingdom; connected right to the old launch site of that Dreadnought from years ago during the Brevon Crisis. Using that entrance, you should be able to sneak into the frozen city defenses and find out what's happened to our allies in there."

"So, that's it?" Hanna said. "Sounds like it'll be a piece of cake to me."

"That's not your only task, however." Natalya spoke. "While you're out there, please, look to make sure King Dail is still alive. Ever since the attack six months ago we've lost all contact with him; he's gone completely radio silent, and none of us can tell if it's of his own choice or that he's been captured or..." Natalya paused, before she continued. "Whatever the reason, we need answers. Find Dail, dead or alive."

Rob would nod. "Understood, Head Scarf." He said, before looking to Hanna and Maria. "Are you both ready for this?"

Hanna nodded. "Let's go." She spoke.

"I'm ready!" Maria responded.

"Alright." Rob said, heading for the door. "Let's head for the launch bay, we'll reach the border of the launch site by nightfall."

Hanna and Maria nodded, the three heading off for the launch bay as Natalya was left to herself, looking back to the back wall. _"Shàngmiàn de jīngshén, yǐndǎo tāmen ānquán..."_ The Head Scarf muttered to herself...

* * *

The sun would be starting to set as the green feline poked her head out of the cave entrance of her hideout at Pangu Lagoon. After a few quick glances around and seeing no sign of the robots, she'd look back into the cave.

"Hey!" She whisper-yelled. "No sign of those metallic morons; let's get to that jade kingdom like you wanted!"

Merga would nod, approaching the entrance of the cave. "And you're sure they're all gone?"

"Positive." The feline said, stepping out of the cave. "Now lead the way, since you'd know the shortest path to get there."

Merga would nod in response, soon leading the way out of the cave and starting to move through the dense growth of the Lagoon, Corazon following right behind her with her gunblades at the ready. With the two starting their trek across the humid overgrowth, luck would be on their side as the vegetation would cover them from any peeping eyes in the sky. After a bit of travelling silence, Corazon finally spoke.

"Hey... Merga?" The wildcat asked.

"Yes?"

"So... what exactly did you do after that... y'know, that incident six months ago?" Corazon asked. "I mean, I know I was arrested and shoved into a prison cell, but what about you?"

"Well..." Merga spoke, shoving dense overgrowth out of her way. "Where do I even begin on something like this?"

"Why not from the beginning?" Corazon asked, keeping pace.

"Well..." Merga started. "It started after I left the treehouse of Sonic and Sash..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hannah, Rob and Maria were already setting out for the frozen wastes now occupying the location of where Shuignag was, and alreadfy they were encountering problems; the snow had started much earlier than they had intended to be driving through on the ATVs, and to make matters worse, icicle spikes were cropping up across the white powdery plains, meaning the tires, even if they were custom made, still ran a very real risk of bursting apart if they collided with one of them.

Hanna gritted her teeth. "And to think it wouldn't be easier for me to just melt the snow so we can get a clearer shot there, but no! Here we are having to drive through nearly knee-deep snow and icicle spikes just to try and get to the damn kingdom!"

"Preferred we keep ourselves low rather than let them know we're coming!" Rob shot back, keeping his ATV as level as he could with the terrain as the two blasted over the snowbanks. "Once we get within range of the kingdom we can hoof it on foot from there! Then you can use your fire!"

Hanna merely growled to herself as she kept the ATV running as the three kept going over the snowy dunes of the fields... before Maria's ear twitched. Something was following them...

"Hey... hey guys?" Maria squeaked.

"Yeah?" Hanna asked.

"I don't think we're alone out here..." The feline whimpered, before a loud revving motor sound roared as a new figure burst up from a now ramp in the ground; riding a Motobug was none other than a knight designed Eggrobo, purple in color and swinging a gigantic mace as it gave pursuit after the ATVs.

"You've definitely got right to believe that!" The Eggrobo said, swinging the mace before lobbing the ball end straight for the back of Hanna's ATV, striking it and causing the entire thing to jerk violently. Maria squeaked and gripped onto Hanna as the vixen glared daggers at the new opponent.

"Oh, you wanna play that game, do ya you piece of scrap?!" She growled, now trying to lob fireballs at the riding Eggrobo. "Let's see how ya like some heat, huh?!" The assailant would be blasting through the snow ahead of her, the mace still swinging above her as the sounds of her Motobug revving up echoed before she was charging at Hanna's ATV head-first! The vixen swerved hard right to try and prevent colliding with the Eggrobo as the purple robot whizzed right past her, gritting her teeth in anger. As she quickly tried to think of a way to lose the assailant, the Eggrobo would start zipping by again, swinging her mace as it collided with several of the larger icicle spikes, causing them to collapse towards the vixen's ATV. Hanna gripped the steering hard as she swerved out of the way of each collapsing icicle spike, trying to prevent herself from becoming skewered from the falling ice shards as Maria held onto the vixen for dear life.

"Hold on!" Rob yelled as his ATV swerved as it soon grinded against The Eggrobo's ride Motobug, causing it to start to spin out.

"STOP THAT! Jimmy can't take that kind of abuse!" The Eggrobo squealed as it struggled to gain control of the Motobug.

"You should've considered that before you attacked us!" Rob said, grinding against the Motobug more as it seriously started to lose control.

"STOOOOOOP!" The purple Eggrobo yelled as the Motobug completely spun out of control, blasting off into the snow aside...

"You alright Hanna?" Rob said as the ATVs continued along.

"About as good as I could be!" Hanna said, annoyed.

"Is that bad robot gone?" Maria said.

"I think so..." Rob said... before the Eggrobo burst through the snow again, the Motobug now a big-wheel motorcycle as ball-like sawblades extended from the sides of the tides, soon launching off and bounding across the snow towards the two ATVs.

"What the?!" Hanna barked.

"I warned you!" The Eggrobo yelled, more of the bounding sawblades bouncing off across the snowscape. "Now you're gonna get it, in the name of the High Robotnik!"

"Don't make me puke!" Hanna growled, soon lobbing another fireball at the Eggrobo as it kept its pace with the two ATVs. Soon enough the Eggrobo would get out the giant mace again as it twirled it over its head, soon lobbing straight for Hanna's ATV. The gigantic mace ball would collide with the back axel, the force smashing it in two as the ATV started to swerve out of control.

"SHIT!" Hanna yelled as she tried to regain control of the ATV. "Come on you bastard! WORK!"

"Hanna, jump, now!" Rob yelled, extending his hand out as the vixen, and the lynx clutching tightly to her, lept from the ATV and grabbed onto Rob's ATV just as the other ATV sidewinded straight into the Eggrobo rider and exploded, capsizing the two into a snowbank.

"Talk about too close for comfort..." Hanna growled to herself before looking back to Maria. "You alright back there?"

"A-A little scared..." Maria whimpered.

"We're gonna have to explain that one to the Head Scarf..." Rob sighed, the single ATV continuing across the snowbanks. "We can't afford to lose anymore ATVs this crisis."

"Not my fault..." Hanna growled as the group started to pass by... machinery?

"Hey... why's there all this machinery here?" Maria said. "This isn't close to the impact crater..."

"It's definitely not Avalician, that's for sure..." Rob spoke, noting the giant cogs surrounding the area. "The design and architecture of it is too far alien for it to be of this plant's origin... or the Dreadnought for that matter."

"Then... then where is it fro-"

Hanna would never get the chance to finish that sentence as soon an attack Egg-o-Matic helicopter burst from behind an ice wall, a blue cop-styled Eggrobo with a siren on its head aiming a custom-made missile launcher right at the ATV. Time seemed to slow down as the helicopter burst through the wall, even what the Eggrobo yelled went by in slow motion.

"STAAAAAAAAAAHP RIIIIIIGHT THEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEE!" The Eggrobo yelled as soon a barrage of missiles erupted from the barrel of the missile launcher and collided with the ground around the ATV and sent the three sprawling into the snow, unmoving...

The helicpoter would righten itself as it came to a hover above the three figures, right as the purple Eggrobo would come up on the Motobug cycle.

"You got 'em?!" The purple Eggrobo said.

"Never stood a chance, Rider!" The blue Eggrobo said. "They're good as dead now with those shots I threw at 'em!"

"Awwww, but I wanted a chance to cave their skulls in!" The purple Eggrobo, Heavy Rider, pouted. "It's more fun when I can do that!"

"Sometimes ya just gotta leave it to the professionals." The blue Eggrobo said. "Either way, they're pretty much dead now, no point in bringing them in as corpses."

Rider was still pouting. "Mmmph..."

"Look, how about a round of donuts when we get back to the fortress? On me!" The blue Eggrobo said.

"Fine..." Rider said, the Motobug turning around and taking off away from the group as the helicopter with the blue Eggrobo followed suit. It was quiet for a few moments... before the three started to move again.

"Are they gone for sure?" Hanna spoke.

"Almost certain they are." Rob spoke. "For being elite Eggman robots, they're not too bright..."

"Meanies!" Maria said, sticking her tongue out in the direction of the leaving Eggrobos.

"We'll get back at them Maria." Hanna spoke. "Purple ass owes me for breaking my ride."

"Speaking of rides..." Rob said, looking at the wreckage of his ATV. "We're gonna have to traverse the rest of the way on foot."

Hanna sighed, hoisting Maria onto her back as the two would continue across the snowy wastes...

* * *

"That much, huh?" Corazon asked as the two continued their trek along the snowy wastes. "I guess you've learned a lot during your travels haven't you?"

"Indeed." Merga said, feeling the cold wind blow against her as the two worked their way north. "It has come in handy for my persuasion abilities to get myself out of problematic situations."

"Like what?" Corazon said, feeling the snow starting to crunch underneath her boots.

"Well..." Merga started. "It was an incident during my travels... during one of my trips in the outer kingdoms, I was out late for one night after finishing a meditation session in one of the community zen gardens they had... before i suddenly felt a blunt force grab me from behind and shove me against an alley wall. As it turned out, late night hours were when some of the shady Avalicians like to roam the streets, looking for 'prey' to steal from."

"And lemme guess; you had no money on you?" Corazon asked.

Merga merely shook her head. "I wouldn't have needed it for the community zen garden, and even then, I had left it back in the temporary living quarters I had within the city. There wouldn't have been a need for me to take money into the city... however, this one individual really did not seem to want to listen. All he was focused on was either getting his money, or taking my life."

"Damn, sounds like it was a corner situation for you." Corazon spoke. "How'd you manage to get out of it?"

"Well..." Merga spoke. "My talking. And a lot of it banked on luck."

"Luck?"

Merga nodded in response. "I had managed to convince the criminal to let me go after I explained to him I was merely a traveler, and had no reason to stay in the city for longer than a few days. With that, I had returned to my room and continued on my way of my journey... at least, until all this chaos happened..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Corazon said. "But at any rate, we should be closing in on the kingdom..."

Merga would look ahead to see the large green outer walls of the kingdom... but things would be definitely off, judging from the metal exterior, frozen icicle defenses and large spotlights sweeping across the area, as if it was security...

"Well, looks like someone's gotten here first..." Merga spoke. "Should we find another way in?"

"That's going to be difficult..." Corazon spoke, her eyes scanning over the area from behind the cover the two were at. "Looks like they got searchlights sweeping over the entire area, chances are they'll be looking for intruders like us... hmmm..." Corazon got her backpack off her back and starting digging around in it.

"Ehm... what are you looking for?" Merga had asked as Corazon pulled out a pack of six bound sticks of dynamite, connected by a single fuse.

"This." Corazon said. "I can set this bad boy off as a distraction, and while all the robots are gonna be looking for what caused the explosion, we sneak through the gates unnoticed."

"You sure this is going to work?" Merga asked as Corazon lit the fuse to the dynamite pack.

"It's either this or we don't get in period." Corazon spoke, twirling the lit pack in her hand before chucking it hard and far to the left before grabbing Merga's hand and dashing off in the opposite direction. The pack would land in the snow a few meters from where Corazon was before it detonated, causing all the searchlights in the area to focus onto its location of the blast. Sirens would shortly blare as the gates raised up and swarms of Egg Pawn robots would scramble out of the gate to get close to the wreckage... leaving the wildcat just enough time to slip in with her draconic friend without being detected.

Ducking behind a corner of an alleyway, Corazon motioned for Merga to remain silent. Whiskers twitching from anticipation, or possibly the freezing weather, the wildcat would peek out from behind her cover to get a view of the surrounding areas of the kingdom.

And it wasn't a pretty sight.

The kingdom was outright frozen over, thick layers of ice and sharp frozen spikes covering the dull metal green plating of the ground and houses. Smoke billowed into the air from the factories as they produced more and more inactive badniks to be loaded up and shipped out to other parts of Avalice and Mobius...

And then Corazon caught sight of the cages hauling the imprisoned Avalicians of all sorts of species; draconic, avian, feline, canine, ursine... they were all being hauled out of the city like some sort of sick zoo exhibit.

At the center of the city appeared to be some sort of large circular device with a magenta stone embedded in the top of it, acting as an activator for a portal as large blue tanks rolled out of the portal into the area, letting out large deafening 'BWOOOOOOOOOMS' every so often.

"Damn, looks like whoever sent those boltbrains after us at the Lagoon has this place down under tight mechanical wraps." Corazon hissed. "And it also looks like they're getting backup help from someplace else with all those tanks..."

"So... what do we do?" Merga asked.

"Well, If the layout of the kingdom is still the same, we should try sneaking around to the palace entrance." Corazon spoke. "Chances are the coward that set this all up would be there like some sort of egotist, not to mention the fact they could be holding Dail there as well."

"So what you're saying is..."

"We find Dail, we get answers." Corazon spoke. "Now c'mon, let's get there..."

With that, the two would set out around the outer perimeter of the kingdom towards the palace...

* * *

It wouldn't be long before the three Scarves would arrive on the scene of the ruined launch base behind Shuigang, and there wasn't a single sector of the scrapyard that wasn't being patrolled by some of the Empire's robots. With the hordes of the mindless drones looking among the massive overturned piles of twisted metal, the trio of assassins would duck into an alcove of wrecked steel, just out of sight of the drones.

"Dammit..." Hanna growled through clenched teeth, just lightly peeking around the corner of the scrap pile, seeing the drones monitoring. "There's more of these metal piles of crap around here... can I just go ham and destroy them all right now?"

"If you want to end up as a piece of swiss vixen, go right ahead." Rob deadpanned to Hanna. "We need to slip through without any of those drones seeing us. If those alarms go off, chances are the place will go under tight lockdown, and soon more of them will flood in here; way more than we'd be able to take down in a single sitting."

Hanna gritted her teeth. "Then how the hell are we supposed to sneak by those things?"

Maria wouldn't be paying attention to Hanna and Rob arguing; she'd be focusing on the pile of scrap behind the group, her nose twitching ever so slightly as her head tilted a bit looking at the scrap pile. Cautiously approaching it, she'd soon start rummaging around inside the junk until she found something; what appeared to be a small orb of some kind. Looking back over to where Hanna and Rob were arguing, Maria crept back over past them and peeked out the side of the cover they were in. Swallowing hard and gripping to the orb, she'd hurl it as hard as she could over to a ruined metal wall several meters from the group. The orb would hit the wall, the loud clank it gave out drawing the attention of all the security drones in the surrounding area... drawing them away from the trio.

Both Hanna and Rob would be dumbstruck at looking at what Maria had just done, but they'd question it later. With the bots properly distracted, the three would rush past where the distracted drones were before ducking behind another cover set. Maria, ears pressed against her head, would peek around the left corner of their cover, looking down the alleyway of twisted metal...

...not even noticing the small blue dot creeping up onto her forehead.

Hanna gasped as she harshly yanked Maria back into the alcove, right as the booming shot of a sniper rifle echoed across the area a a hot streak of blue flew right past, embedding the tracer round bullet straight into the wall. Maria was panting heavily as she clutched to Hanna tightly as a robot voice was heard from the sightline of the left corner. Hanna couldn't exactly make out what it was saying; something about a 'wanka'?

"Left flank is compromised; tracer round snipers locking down that route like a vault." Hanna spoke. "How's right flank looking?"

Rob would barely peek the sightline of the right flank, but almost instantly he'd notice something was off; most of the security drones would be scrap piles now, large icicles impaling them at every opportunity.

"This way's safer..." Rob spoke. "...but it looks like we're not alone here. Keep your eyes peeled."

The other two nodded as the trio took off down the right side, looking for the main entrance into the back of the palace...

* * *

Getting inside the palace undetected was easy enough for Corazon and Merga; it was remaining undetected as they would try to find their way towards the dungeons of the entire palace. With any luck, the people having taken over wouldn't have thought to move him out of the kingdom...

"Alright, now let's see..." Corazon breathed, her breath showing as she checked the one set of steel doors ahead of her, lightly rapping on it. "Five inches... solid steel alloy. Regular blasts ain't gonna do on this..."

"So, what do we do now?" Merga asked. "Is there a way around we could try?"

"I don't think so..." Corazon said, her ears twitching as she pulled her pack off as she started searching around inside. "The map specs I knicked says this is the only way into the lower catacombs and dungeons. So like it or not, this is the only way we can go."

"And... how exactly do you suggest we do that?" Merga said, crossing her arms.

Corazon merely smirked, pulling out what appeared to be a small jar. "Well? Melt our way though that door." She spoke, popping the lid off the jar and starting to lace the central crease of the door with it. "Grade A Thermite; just volatile enough to melt through the door here..."

"Are you sure that's going to be a good idea?" Merga said, stepping back.

"Relax..." Corazon said, pulling a lighter from her bag, lighting it. "Just let me do my thing." After a few clicks, the lighter would ignite as Corazon would ignite the Thermite, starting the burning as she stepped back to a save distance, the powder burning violently as it melted straight through the frozen steel door. The feline would cautiously approach the door before gripping the sides and trying to pull the door apart from the melted gap she created from the Thermite, but soon found herself struggling to even budge it.

"Hnnnnnngghh!" Corazon grunted, feeling the strain in her arms as she tried to pull the door apart. "Y-yeesh... this thing is s-sturdier than I expected..."

"Allow me." Merga spoke, stepping in front of Corazon, who would notice her scale pigmentation was less of the usual aqua/cyan and more of an orange/brown coloration. Planting her feet firmly into the ground, Merga wedged her clawed hands into the slit of the door where the thermite burned through, her muscles contracting as she soon ripped the door clean open, sparks coming from the door mechanics in the walls.

"Huh, duly noted." Corazon said, stepping up to the door. "Looks like I'll need to keep that in mind. Now, let's find Dail."

Merga nodded before the two rushed down into the dungeons of Shuigang...

* * *

Out above in the snowy frozen kingdom, the portal had finally shut down as the last of the normal tanks and now several giant all-terrain carriers had come through the portal, the green-haired Zeti smirked maliciously to herself. Everything was moving ahead according to plan, now all they needed to do was get these mothership tanks distributed across the planets to overwhelm the Resistance for a hail-mary game over.

"Even with how many of them there are in the Resistance, they can't be in multiple places at the same time!" The green Zeti spoke to herself, admiring the handiwork of getting the tanks loaded in as well as numerous Empire robots into the carriers. "With multiple simultaneous attacks, they'll be drowned out before they even get a chance to try and defend multiple sites at once! Lord Robotnik, your genius has really outshone this time; pulling out weapons and robot designs from another dimension is perfect!"

Of course, unseen from the Zeti, lying prone on the rooftop of one of the buildings to avoid detection but still having a clear earshot of the scene below, was a white female falcon dressed in black, wearing a skimask to avoid detection of her yellow beak in the snow. In her wings was a small device on a notepad setting as she marked down everything the Zeti was monologuing to herself about.

"That's it, that's it..." The white falcon quietly whispered to herself, her voice just barely audible over the wind. "Just keep monologuing you little wench..."

"M-Mistress Zeena! Mistress Zeena!" A voice yelled as an Egg Pawn yelled rushed over her.

The Zeti looked at the Egg Pawn, a look of annoyance on her face. "What now?" She groaned. "I'm in the middle of celebrating the lord's victory over those furry brats, and you pick NOW of all time to interrupt me?!"

"N-not important right now!" The Egg Pawn spoke. "We've been compromised! The palace is being invaded by unruly Resistance members who snuck in under our nose! They-"

The Egg Pawn didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Zeena had angrily punched a hole through his head in a fit of rage. "Those sons of BITCHES!" She angrily said. "I knew I should have killed Dail when I got the chance! That's why they're here! Guh, no matter, I'll just kill him now!" She growled, taking off towards the palace. "AS WELL AS THE RESISTANCE INTRUDERS FOR INTERRUPTING MY VICTORY MUSING!"

The falcon tensed up; with how dangerous Zeena was right now, there was the strong possibility that the Resistance members, whoever was in there, could very well be outmatched by this enraged Zeti. Weighing her options, she consiously made the decision to intervene in the palace as she took off flying over the kingdom towards it...

* * *

"I-I-It's s-so super cold in here!" Maria chattered through her teeth as the three made their way through the palace corridors. "C-can't we find a thermos-s-s-stat or something to make it less freezy in here?"

"Not if you want us to be found." Hanna spoke, seemingly unfazed by the sheer cold of the inside. "If we start tampering with the power inside here, they could very well have that linked up to a silent alarm. Then we all get put on Egg Death Row and that's that."

"That's easy for you to say being a Fire Elemental." Rob spoke, looking bothered by the freezing temperatures but doing surprisingly well to hide it. "Maria's a Wood elemental; you'd know very well these near sub-zero temperatures are going to severely affect her!"

"We won't be in here for very long!" Hanna shot back. "We just need to find Dail and get out of here!"

"S-so... c-c-cold..." Maria spoke, her pace slowing down. Hanna almost ground to a halt and immediately turned around to the lynx.

"Hey, hey... there there..." Hanna said, hoisting the lynx onto her back as her tail covered up the body of her with the floofy tail fur.

"Mmmmmmmmhhh... s-so warm..." Maria said, passing out and drifting off into sleep.

"Alright, change of plan, I'll carry Maria so she can stay warm." Hanna spoke. "Last thing I need now is here freezing before our mission is even done."

Rob nodded, before his ear caught something. Getting on the defensive, he'd brandish his sais as he grit his teeth in anticipation for the oncoming threat, Hanna behind him moreso to protect Maria than anything else.

They'd be surprised to find a dragon and wildcat bursting through a side door not to far from them with an unconscious panda over the dragon's shoulder.

And it would only take two seconds for the hare and vixen to recognize the wildcat.

"CORAZON!" The two of them yelled, seemingly pissed by the wildcat's presence.

"YOU... uh..." Corazon spoke, now confused. "Well, this is awkward... who are you guys again?"

Now Rob and Hanna were confused. "Wait..." Hanna said. "You seriously don't remember us?"

"Amnesia." Corazon responded. "You're like, the third people I've had to tell today."

Rob deadpanned before returning to his serious tone from earlier. "What are you even doing here?! And why is Merga with you?!"

"We're trying to get Dail out of here before we get found by those robot chronies!" Merga spoke. "Now, we need to hurry bef-"

"You're already going to be too late." Another voice spoke before the group would look up to see a white falcon perched on one of the higher ledges. "Zeena's already on her way here to try and kill you; apparently one of you tripped the silent alarm coming in and now she's... less than happy, let's put it."

"And how do we know you're not just trying to trick us?!" Hanna growled. "After all, you've got a lotta nerve showing your face around here again, especially since we know what YOU did to that recruiter!"

"What would I have to gain from lying to you when that doctor would be after me as well?" The bird coldly stated. "We're all in the same boat here. And I have other people to warn before things get out of hand. So best be prepared for your fight." The bird figure said before taking off.

Hanna growled, gritting her teeth before a loud crashing sound came from behind them.

"There you runts are!" Zeena's voice growled as she came charging on a large snake-like beast of black orbs.

"A Tao Serpent!" Merga gasped. "Move!" Without any other need of warning the five took off down the hall in the opposite direction from the enraged Zeti, soon enough coming to a large central room, rounded in shape and stature as Zeena on the Tao Serpent burst through the hall, gathering up in the center of the room.

"You insignificant... little..." The green Zeti hissed as she glarged down the group, the Tao Serpent's jaws dripping with what could only be hoped was saliva as it loomed over the group. "You break into MY place, steal MY prisoners, and ALL without thinking I would notice?! You sorry scum sucking, no good, little pieces of goddamn shit are going to DIE here, you hear me?! And once I scrape all of your goddamn carcasses off the floor, including that lousy slouching good-for-nothing 'king', THIS ENTIRE WORLD WILL-"

Whatever the entire world was going to become, Zeena's rage speech was rudely interrupted when a gigantic metal snowman head came crashing through the ceiling and crushing her and the Tao Serpent entirely.

"Jeesus... and I thought she'd _never_ shut up. That is _not_ how I act at all." Another voice said, similar to the one they just heard but... less malicious and more... annoyed? Friendly?

"Who's there?!" Hanna growled.

"Hey, there's no need for hostilities." The figure said as the gigantic metal snowman head shrunk, showing the smashed Tao Serpent and the crumpled, broken Zeena. Across from the group, on the other side of the casualty, was a green Zeti, her dark green hair tied back into a ponytail, the familiar single curved horn... but this one was apparently wearing a magenta sweater and scarf, along with a beanie... "We're on the same side after all."

"Who... just who are you?!" Corazon said.

"Ah, forgot the formalities, what was I thinking?" The Zeti said, before looking at the group. "I'm Zeena."

* * *

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED..._**

 _Chapter 11: Grave Matters_


	12. Chapter 11: Grave Matters

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 2_**

 _Chapter 11: Grave Matters_

* * *

The entire group was in disbelief of what they had just witnessed in front of them; they were about to be in for the fight of their lives, and the next thing they know the Zeena was flattened by a snowball mech of another Zeena!

Needless to say, Hanna soon voiced the thoughts of the entire group.

"What the fuck is going on?!" The vixen shouted.

"First of all, calm down." The other Zeena said. "If there's something we need to be in this situation, it's level-headed. Second, it's a long story; one I'd be more comfortable talking about when we're not inside an enemy base. Any of you have accommodations preferably somewhere outside of the sub-zero temperatures and potential horde of robots here?"

"Hold on." Corazon said. "Exactly what reason should we have to trust you when another you had tried to kill us in the first place? How do we know you're not just another copy like her?"

The Zeti at this point would deadpan. "Look at what I did and now look back on what you just said. What reason would I have to kill a fake of myself to then turn around and try killing your group?" She'd crossed her arms, leaning to one side. "Really, genuinely think about this right now."

"Look, we're not going to get anywhere arguing like this!" Merga spoke. "Scarves, we should return to your base."

Rob would nod. "We don't have much a choice in this case." He said, turning back to Zeena. "Alright, let's get you back to base."

"Lead the way."

* * *

The Head Scarf would be busy pacing in her chambers, her concern growing more and more; no status reports within the last few hours of the base, especially from her Shuigang resistance group she sent to find Dail. She thought they would have reported back by now with some sort of status update; was something wrong? There must have been a reason...

Soon enough a knock came at the door, throwing her out of her train of thought. Regaining her composure, she'd clear her throat and turn to the door.

"State your business." She spoke. With any luck the visitor would just leave her alone.

"It's Spade, your honor." The cavy spoke from the other side of the door. "Can... I come in?"

"..." Natalya half-sighed to herself as she faced away from the door. "Make it brief." The door would open, Spade slipping into the room before shutting the door behind him.

"Yes, Head Scarf." Spade spoke, kneeling. "We've gotten results from the Med bay."

"Is Neige stable?" Natalya asked.

Spade nodded. "She's recovering, but... she won't be using her legs for a while. By order of the med bay doctors she's required to remain in the chair for the duration of her recovery; any sort of sudden movements standing up or otherwise could cause the blood to rush to her wound and have her pass out."

"...it's more than enough to keep her as our communications expert, so we'll keep her there." Natalya spoke. "Is that all?"

"Not quite..." Spade spoke. "The Shuigang group has returned."

"Did they locate Dail?"

"He's alive, but unconscious." Spade spoke. "The doctors are taking him to the med bay as we speak. Hea-"

"Good. At the very least we've avoided a tragedy with his life." Natalya spoke. "Now then, you ar-"

"Head Scarf..." Spade spoke, his tone turning serious. " _She_ was with them."

Natalya froze, a cocktail of emotions starting to boil inside her. "Was it who I fear it is? Wildcat, lime green fur?"

"Yes, Head Scarf." Spade spoke. "She's... not acting the way she was in the Scarves however..."

"...I will be the judge of this myself." Natalya spoke, leaving the quarters before Spade had a chance to continue explaining. The dragoness's mind was reeling in a cocktail of emotions as she marched towards the meeting room, though it was primarily seething anger she kept bottled in so well you couldn't tell it on her face. Soon enough she reached the meeting room, opening the doors and looking throughout the meeting room. Neige was situated in a wheelchair talking to the Zeena that had accompanied them, Hanna and Rob were discussing important matters at the meeting table as Maria was snuggling up close to the vixen, and Merga and Corazon were discussing among something else, Corazon holding the Chaos Emerald they had. By that point Corazon had looked over and seen Natalya.

"Oh! Miss Natalya!" Corazon said. "Good to finally see you in per-"

Corazon didn't even get to finish her sentence before she clocked Corazon clean across the face. Everyone else in the room jumped back in shock before Natalya slammed Corazon against the wall, holding her there by the throat as she looked the wildcat over.

Natalya's eyes narrowed a bit before she set Corazon back down onto her feet. "You're not the same since the last time you were here..." She spoke, her tone unwavering. "Don't assume this means I trust you however; I will be keeping a _very_ close eye on what your actions are while you're here." She spoke, before turning to Zeena. "And who might this one be?"

"First things first: you're not going to do the same thing to me are you?" Zeena asked. "I'd prefer not to be cracked one across the face."

"Ah, apologies for that; rather unprofessional of me." Natalya spoke. "Rest assured, I will not be doing that to you."

"Alright then." Zeena spoke, reassuring herself. "I'm Zeena. I've already informed everyone else here about what's going on, but I'll need contact with the Mobius Resistance base to explain it to them. This is important."

"Hmmmph..." Natalya mused. "Very well then. Neige, fire up the comm links to the Mobius base."

"Yes Head Scarf." The snowcat spoke before her fingers went across the keyboard of the main console. It wouldn't be long before the screen would boot back up, connecting to the Mobius base as Amy soon flashed onto the screen, looking a bit shocked from the sudden reconnection.

"H-huh?" Amy asked, confused. "Neige? What's the sudden contact for? Did your cross-section referencing come up with something?"

"No, sadly." Neige said. "But we do have a couple of updates in regards to things that have been progressing around here. We've managed to stop an ambush incident involving metal counterparts to Tails and Carol out at Phoenix Highway, something we hadn't anticipated being out before. IF assumptions are to be made, chances are Eggman has a whole metal copy of AvaMerc at this rate, meaning the ones of Sonic, Sash, and Milla could still be out there causing chaos or killing more of our potential survivors."

Amy's expression changed to worry. "That can't be good... how heavy were an issue were they to deal with for your team?"

"Well, you'll have to ask Hanna and Rob about that... but they came back with something important from that." Neige spoke. "Miss Head Scarf, may I..."

"Permission granted, Neige." Natalya spoke. "Show them the retrieved artifact."

The snowcat nodded in response, picking up the glass container dome, a small perch on it holding the magenta gemstone. "This was retrieved from the site where Hanna and Rob destroyed the two offending metal counterparts. With our scanners right now, we can't make heads or tails of this thing or what it does, or why it doesn't activate in any of our grasp."

"Hmmm..." Amy spoke. "It may have better results if we try our scanners. Do you mind sending it over?" She asked.

"We might be able to..." Neige answered, looking back to Zeena offscreen, where Amy didn't see her. "Though, we found someone here who... wants to talk to your group apparently."

"And... who is that?" Amy asked.

"That would be me, sweet-cheeks." Zeena said, walking on-screen, shocking Amy.

"Z-ZEENA?!" Amy said. "How did-"

"Relax." Zeena spoke, raising a hand. "I understand that your group and my kind are not exactly on the most... amicable of terms, to put it lightly, but I'm willing to put the past aside if you help me and the rest of the Six."

"But..." Amy said. "Zavok tried to kill Milla back on the Death Egg! Why would-"

"That wasn't Zavok." Zeena spoke, crossing her arms, her tone becoming serious. "I know my leader better than anyone of the Six, and Zavok never kills out of rage or without reason. What your hound friend dealt with was a fake; a soulless copy."

"What..."

"When Eggman got his new ally of that hound incident, he came after us." Zeena said. "I can still recall that incident clearly..."

* * *

 _It was a few days before the incident of Sonic and Sash's defeat at the hands of Infinite, and the Lost Hex was soon making it's return to Mobius' orbit once again. Within Windy Hill, the large red Zeti, Zavok, was to himself, mulling things over about his defeat at the hands of Sonic almost a few years prior, and thinking on what to do when the Lost Hex would eventually make it back to Mobius' orbit this year. Would he try to go for another attack on the planet as an act of revenge on the blue hedgehog? Or was it a futile plan to even try at this rate for an escape? His grumbling would soon enough attract the sound of a familiar Zeti..._

 _"...Zavvy? Everything alright?" The voice said. The hulking red Zeti would turn to see Zeena not that far away from him, but still a bit out of arm's reach for her own safety. She knew how Zavok would get at these times..._

 _"...First, don't call me that. I've told you that already." Zavok flatly grumbled, looking back away from her. "What do you want?"_

 _"The rest of the Six are starting to get worried about you. You've been growing distant ever since the incident with that hedgehog a while back..." Zeena spoke. "Master Zik sent me to check and make sure you're not..."_

 _"...just leave me be, Zeena." Zavok spoke. "The only thing wounded here is my pride."_

 _"Zavvy, I-"_

 _"Leave." Zavok spoke, his tone serious._

 _"No." Zeena said. "A wounded pride shouldn't be causing our leader to enter into nothing but this depressive state ever since we lost to the hedgehog. If anything, we should be thanking him for-"_

 _"-for **what.** " Zavok growled, turning towards Zeena now, seemingly annoyed. "That hedgehog took away our chance at managing to get back at those damn mutts that imprisoned us over a century ago. How-"_

 _"We nearly committed a genocide on an entire planet." Zeena countered. "Wasn't that the reason the Echidnas sealed us here in the first place? Because we got power-hungry with greed?"_

 _Zavok's eyes narrowed. "We could have been free, Zeena. We could have-"_

 _"Maybe we should let the past go, Zavok." Zeena spoke. "Is it really worth it to try and get back at them at this point? The ones who even sent us here could possibly even be dead at this point."_

 _"..."_

 _"Zavvy..." Zeena spoke. "Please. I think it's time we move on at this point. The rest of the Six don't want to try and get back at the Echidna's at this point; it's just not worth it."_

 _"..."_

 _"Zavvy, please..." Zeena said, hugging the big red Zeti. "We care about you..."_

 _"...very well then." Zavok spoke. "I will need to discuss with them. Where are they now?"_

 _"They're back near part of the impact crater in Windy Hill, if-" Zeena spoke before the rumbling soon threw them for a loop._

 _"What the-" Zavok said, before seeing the red ships oncoming. "Oh sonuva- not **again!** " The large red Zeti growled before taking off for the crater._

 _"Z-Zavok, wait!" Zeena said, taking off after him..._

 _The two Zeti would arrive on the scene to soon see a horde of the emotionless grey Egg Pawns, weapons trained on breaking apart the zone by any means necessary._

 _Zavok growled. "So he wants a war, does he?" He growled, holding a hand out. "I won't let..."_

 _Nothing happened as the Pawns continued their rampage._

 _"What?!" Zavok growled, still trying to extend his arm to control the robots with the electromagnetic manipulation.  
_

 _Still nothing._

 _"How..." Zeena started to speak before laughter was heard._

 _"Ah, trying to save your pathetic little rock. I'm amused by this!" The voice said before the familiar pod lowered and showing the mad doctor himself. "Long time no see you multicolored rejects!"_

 _"You!" Zeena yelled. "What are you doing here?!"_

 _"Well, nothing short of a little thing I call 'payback'." Robotnik said. "Enjoy my new toys? They're completely immune to your little electromagnetic mind games unlike the last time I was here, so don't even bother trying!"_

 _Zavok growled, soon lunging straight for the mad doctor._

 _"Zavok, wait-!"_

 _Zavok was soon rudely interrupted as a swift kick came to his abdomen, sending him fling back to the ground, winded. The female Zeti gasped before she rushed towards the hulking red figure. Looking up, she'd soon see the hound form of Infinite, the Ruby in the chest having a dull glow as he glared down at the two with his piercing gaze._

 _Zeena looked to Robotnik with angry tears in her eyes. "What did you do to them?!"_

 _"Oh, don't worry. They're not dead... yet." He grinned. "Trust me, I have infinite more use for your sorry rear ends than if you were dead."_

 _Zeena gritted her teeth as she soon found herself constricted in a searing electric bind, being held up against her will._

 _"Now, this world's time has come..." Robotnik said, smiling devilishly. "Infinite... do it."_

* * *

"...and what happened then?" Amy asked.

"He shattered the Lost Hex." Zeena spoke. "The hound... Infinite... he tore the planet apart like it was nothing before he sent the pieces crashing down onto Mobius and Avalice..."

"Huh..." Amy spoke, thinking. "That would explain the reason for all the sudden climate and natural disasters happening almost in the span of a night..."

"Eggman had all of the Six imprisoned, including myself." Zeena spoke. "He's wanting to make sure we don't get in his way while he extracts his revenge out our world and on the rest of the planet itself. The only reason I managed to get out was because I managed to swoon the guard robot watching over my cell before I met up with the rest of the base here."

"Still... how do we know we can trust you?" Amy said. "What's to say Zavok won't immediately try to turn around and-"

"I don't want him to do that either." Zeena spoke. "But I can't just leave them out there to die."

"I thought you didn't like some of them." Amy said.

"Some of them may be idiots..." Zeena said, her fists clenching. "...but they're _my_ idiots goddamnit..."

"..." Amy seemed to be at a loss for words. "...alright. We'll agree to help."

"You will?" Zeena said, looking up at the monitor.

Amy nodded in response. "Go ahead and take the teleporter over to our base with that stone they recovered. I'll explain everything to the rest of the team before you get here."

Zeena nodded in response. "Alright then." She spoke before moving offscreen, Amy turning her attention back to Neige.

"Alright, anything else to report?"

"I did have some pings with that HBH cross-examination you told me to do a while back." Neige said, pulling up the files on screen. "Apparently this is Eggman's first attempt at trying to create the ultimate 'Super Badniks' as the file put it. He's modified five of his Eggrobos and turned them into his ultimate soldiers to head his army. The data files don't have any readings on what their actual names are, so all I have to go off of is the project codenames. The large red one is 'the Ruler', the blue one is 'the Law', the green one is 'the Recon', the yellow one is 'the Mystic', and the purple one is 'the Cyclist'. There's specifications in here about their weapons and attacks... you want me to forward all this to you too?"

Amy nodded. "Any extra information we get the better."

"Noted." Neige said, typing into the console. "I'll get that sent over immediately."

"Alright." Amy spoke, before looking to Zeena. "We'll see you over here in a bit Zeena."

The Zeti nodded in response. "I look forward to meeting on neutral grounds this time."

"Same here." Amy said, before the transmission cut off.

"Setting up the teleporter link for the Mobius base." Neige said, looking to the Head Scarf. "Permission to activate?"

"Permission granted." Natalya said, before looking over to Hanna and Rob. "You two. I've got another assignmen-"

"Hey, hold up." Corazon spoke, interrupting the dragoness, which she wasn't too pleased about.

"Ghh... what is it Corazon." Natalya spoke through gritted teeth.

"Shouldn't we have told them we have one of their Chaos Emeralds with us?" Corazon said, holding the gem up. "I mean, granted, I beat the shit out of the robots that had this thing in the first place, but still..."

"...good point, that completely slipped my mind." Natalya spoke, shaking her head. "We'll mention it in the next update to them. Can't afford to have our comm channels open too long or-"

"Lemme guess, they find us?" Corazon said. "Eh, just let me at the mainframe. I could fire up a counter-jammer and make our base go radio-silent so they can't track us down, or at the very least make it extremely hard for 'em to do so."

"...why exactly should I trust you on this?" Natalya spoke. Corazon set a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Head, I don't know what kind of past event happened that caused you to have such a vile animosity specifically towards me, but the point is we're all part of a team here. We all need to work together or otherwise that fat bastard's gonna make pelts out of all of us, if he hasn't already out of how many people living on both planets at this point. Let me at the mainframe; we need this counter-jammer." Corazon said.

Natalya was silent for a bit before she sighed. "Alright then. Under one condition."

"Yeah?"

"You are to be monitored while you do this." Natalya spoke.

"Miss Natalya..." Merga finally spoke up. "How about I go with her to make sure she doesn't try to pull anything?"

"Any surveillance is fine in my book." The Scarf leader said. "Now go."

Both Merga and Corazon would nod before the two took for the corridor to look for the mainframe, right as Neige had something come up on the massive monitor.

"Head Scarf, we've got a hit on high-ranking Eggman officers." The snowcat said, typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"Where are they located?" The dragoness said, walking over to the computer. Neige would be typing across before the map of Avalice came up, zooming in on the large running body of water running between the kingdoms.

"Appears to be Jade Creek..." Neige said. "Looks like 20 miles due south of the captured Shang Tu... scanners are picking up a vessel the size of a freight carrier-class cargo ship docked in the river, and several peaking unidentified sources of energy on board. We might have a high-class threat in the making here."

"...very well then." Natalya spoke, turning to the vixen and hare. "Hanna, Rob. You two know what to do."

* * *

In a section of the massive running river, a large grey metal ship was docked into the muddy bank as several Badniks of varying types were moving about loading cargo onto the ship itself. Positioned at the bow of the ship was none other than Heavy King himself, and with the moonlight shining down on the area the faint red light from below at the edges of the boat made him look all the more menacing.

"Keep the shipments moving!" King ordered. "Master Robotnik is expecting this payload incoming to be large, so we cannot afford any more setbacks!" The Badniks sped up, continuing to load as Hanna and Rob had just snuck onto the scene, silently observing from the bushes.

"Shit... look at all of those things..." Hanna said. "There must be something big on that ship..."

"My bets it's whatever's causing those energy spikes..." Rob said. "And it looks like the doc's been taking pages from that warlord's book. There's several of his bots he's using here..."

"Damn... you'e right; I see several of those Bullfrags..." Hanna spoke. "I could take two out by myself, but _five_?"

"Just keep low-" Rob said, before tensing up. "Someone's coming, keep quiet!"

Hanna remained silent as a green Eggrobo seemed to be rushing through the area, carrying what appeared to be a large capsule filled with some sort of odd creatures inside it.

"Ah, there you are Shinobi." Heavy King spoke. "Is that the last of the runaway Wisps currently scattered from the Lost Hex shattering?"

"The last of the Bursts, yes." The green Eggrobo spoke. "They should all be ready for transport back to the Eggmanland Fortress on Westside Island."

"Excellent." Heavy King spoke. "All Badniks, load up! We will be setting sail for the fortress effective immediately!"

The Badniks would start bustling about as they finished loading things onto the ship, the anchor soon starting to raise up as the ship started to pull away from the muddy bank.

"Move!" Hanna said, darting from the bushes and heading straight for the ship.

"Hanna, no!" Rob yelled, chasing after her. But by the time he said that Hanna had already clung onto the side of the ship, starting to pull herself into a porthole on the side of the ship. Rob merely gritted his teeth as he soon leaped and grabbed onto Hanna's legs, soon being pulled into the ship itself as the two ended up on a pile in the floor in the lower cargo hold.

"...ow." Hanna said, starting to get up.

"Hanna, what were you thinking?" Rob said, getting up himself.

"Well excuse me, I was trying to get onto the ship to take it down!" Hanna said. "We can't afford that fatass getting his hands on whatever these things are can we?"

"So we're just going to take this ship down with us still on it?!" Rob said.

"I'm not that insane." Hanna said. "This ship is headed straight for their main base on Mobius; if we can hide away on here for the time being and get into about the fortress's defenses, we'll be in better shape for once we actually get a chance to have both Resistance bases to launch an all-out attack on the place."

"...you better hope we have a proper escape plan for once we get out of there." Rob commented.

"Don't I always?" Hanna responded.

"Yes, and that's what worries me." Rob answered as they felt the ship soon lift into the air...

* * *

"...and now you're on the way to their main headquarters without them noticing?" Natalya spoke to the screen in the base.

"That is correct, Head Scarf." Rob answered. "We can't talk for long or else they may trace us. We'll keep in touch once we get to the fortress itself."

"One more thing." Natalya spoke. "If there's a Chaos Emerald there, do not hesitate in grabbing it, understood?"

"Understood Head Scarf." Rob spoke before cutting the transmission. Natalya sighed as she rubbed her temples in exhaustion. "Hopefully that Tea is done with the counter-jammer by this point..."

* * *

 **With Natalya having two of her finest scarves out for a impromptu recon mission at the main fortress of the Empire and Zeena soon to be delivering one of the Phantom Ruby prototypes to the Mobius Resistance base, things are a bit scattered for Avalice's Resistance base. But what of Corazon's motives? Can she truly be trusted? Or is she feigning ignorance to get an upper hand? Find out next time in Chapter 12: "A Tea's Promise"...**


	13. Chapter 12: A Tea's Promise

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 2_**

 _Chapter 12: A Tea's Promise_

* * *

Sparks were occasionally flying a bit from the panel as the neon-green furred wildcat was busy working away at the panel itself, her goggles snuggly down over her eyes to protect them as her ears laid back against her head, the right one occasionally twitching. The feline was busily working away as she was modifying the wires together and rewiring to other slots as she soon took her handheld blowtorch and continued to weld and put the wires into new positions.

"Now let's see..." Corazon said, soon reaching into her bag and pulling out what appeared to be a small microchip. "One jammer coming up..." She said, soon hooking the chip into the mainframe board and welding it into place on it. At this point she didn't even notice the cyan-colored dragon coming up behind her.

"So, how is it coming?" Merga asked, causing Cory to jump in shock from not expecting the dragon to be there. She dropped the torch to the ground, which soon caught a nearby crate on fire.

"Shit!" Merga breathed before her scaled changed to a darker blue color a she inhaled, soon releasing a large volume of water from her mouth as the fire was extinguished, the smoke soon lightly curling upwards.

Cory sighed in relief before looking to Merga. "Don't sneak up on me like that! Especially when I'm trying to focus into my work!"

"Sorry..." Merga merely responded, sweatdropping. "I was just doing as Natalya requested and was meaning to observe you about your task of installing that counter-jammer."

"Well, I'm done with this one..." Cory said, getting up. "Though it looks like with how old the mainframe wiring is in this place I'll have to hit up several other places in here in order to have it working 100%."

"Ah, very well then." Merga said, turning to leave. "I suppose I'll just meet you at the next one then-"

"Actually..." Cory said, setting a hand on Merga's shoulder. "You mind if I walk with you and we talk a bit? I... need to discuss with someone about something..."

"...alright then." Merga said as the two started walking down the other corridor towards the next circuitboard. "So... what is it you want to chat about?"

"..." Cory was silent a bit before she finally spoke. "...I want you to be honest with me."

"Huh?" Merga asked.

"Was I really... that bad of a person when I still had my memories?" The wildcat asked, looking at her. "Did I... really do all that?"

"..." Merga soon found herself in a rather uncomfortable spot to answer the question posed by Corazon. What should she answer? Should she be truthful and tell her what she was like back during that incident? Or should she lie and try to keep the wildcat ignorant about her past she didn't remember until the entire war was over and there wouldn't be the possibility of a betrayal?

Merga internally sighed; lying to Corazon wasn't going to get either of them anywhere. She had to tell her the truth.

"Merga?" Cory asked.

"...yes." She spoke.

Corazon fell silent, her ears drooping as she stared ahead somberly. "Then... I really did do all those things to Sonic and Sash..."

"Look at this way." Merga spoke. "You're doing a good thing."

"I know, but..." Cory spoke. "I just get these... these pangs of regret inside me. Like, I shouldn't even be alive right now, right? From what I found out while I was here, I was basically set up for execution after I was caught, even though my memories were scrambled. But... both Sash and Carol stepped in and stopped it."

"Ah, yes, I remember hear-"

"Why?"

Merga fell silent. "Pardon?"

"I mean... why waste time with sparing me?" Cory asked. "After everything I had did... all the unforgivable, disgusting shit I did to them... and tried to inflict a planet-wide genocide... how could they forgive me? And... why?"

"...Corazon." Merga spoke. "There was a time where I had asked myself the same question. Asked myself as to why I was still alive even after what I did was inexcusable. That I should be dead for what I had done... but Sash taught me that there's still reason to live. That there are still people that care for me in this world, even if I hadn't met them yet... and I think that's the reason why Carol would have wanted you to be spared."

"But... at this point I'd be a disgrace to the family name." Corazon said, her ears drooping. "And who even knows where Carol is at this point... she could be dead because of me..."

"...I've never been the best with motivational talk..." Merga spoke. "But what's important is that you keep moving on, for her sake. Even if she may be dead, she wouldn't want you to give up either."

"That doesn't excuse my actions." Cory spoke.

"You can continue to regret your past actions, or you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get a grip on your life." Merga answered. "Carol wouldn't want to see you like this."

"..."

"We should move now; those jammers still need installed." Merga said, walking forward. Corazon remained silent, her tail drooped before she followed after the dragoness.

"Maybe someday I could atone for what I've done..." Cory spoke to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the scorched forest of Dragon Valley, a familiar small ragtag group was currently making its way across the charred vegetation of the valley. The green wildcat's ears drooped at the sight of the place.

"He's... really not taking any chances..." Carol muttered, glancing around at the desolate wastes around the group's position. "He's really wanting to destroy all of this..."

"This warlord your timeline has seems rather brutal..." Coral spoke from her Mech-Cycle, Cyclone and Classic riding on the back. "Has he done something like this before?"

"He hasn't flown this far off the hinges..." Tails spoke from the back of Carol's Mech-Cycle. "He's tried world conquest, sure, but... not world destruction..."

"...I don't even understand... why would he torch a valley like this?" Cyclone spoke.

"It's probably a setup for his next building project..." Tails spoke. "Chances are he's probably wanting to clear out all the vegetation here before he starts terraforming the entire place for a Badnik factory or something similar..."

Classic would look angry at the burnt surroundings before the Omega spoke.

" **WARNING: HIGH ENERGY OUTPUTS DETECTED WITHIN THE VICINITY!** " Omega droned, keeping up with the two Mech-Cycles themselves. " **SUBSTANCE APPEARS TO HAVE SIMILAR TRAITS TO SPACIAL DISTORTION!"**

"!" Classic breathed, before he leaped off the Mech-Cycle and dashed off ahead, leaving the rest of the group in the dust.

"Classic, no!" Cyclone yelled before leaping off and taking after the blue hedgehog.

"Oooooh, this ain't good." Tails said. "Think we can catch up to them?"

"I'll see if I... can..." Carol said, her voice trailing off as she soon saw a large magenta comet-like streak whiz past in the sky above them... heading straight for where the two small ones ran off to.

"Oh no..." Carol breathed, soon kicking the cycle into high gear as it blasted off after the hedgehog and dragon, Coral and Omega not far behind...

* * *

Sparks flew once again as the soddering iron soon made quick work of applying the proper chips to the circuit board, the last one needed to fire up the jammer signal. Soon clamping the entire panel back shut, Corazon sighed and stoop up, moving her goggles up from her eyes. She stepped back looking at her handiwork for a bit before taking her handheld out of her pocket, soon firing it up and moving to the activation app.

"Alright, everything's in place..." Cory said, looking at the app. "Just gotta fire this up and..." A small whirling sound would come from the panel as the handheld soon read as [STABLE].

"Excellent!" Cory said, soon pocketing her handheld again. "The jammer's up and running, we should be able to be radio-silent from the empire for now..."

At that point an announcement came over the intercom, Natalya being the one speaking. "Merga, Corazon, report to the main office at once. I repeat, report to the main office at once."

Cory took a deep sigh as she soon stepped out of the room that had the panel, back into the hallway. "Let's just hope that this is going to be simple enough..."

Within a few minutes the wildcat had arrived to the central office along with the cyan-scaled dragon, facing across from the Head Scarf herself. The dragoness seemed tense as she soon turned to face the two.

"Very well, I see you two were able to make it." Natalya spoke, looking at Corazon. "I presume the entire jamming mechanism is up and running?"

"She's firing on all cylinders, Head Scarf." Corazon spoke. "They definitely won't be able to track us now with it set up."

"Good." Natalya said. "Now, since two of my highest ranking Scarves are currently in a mission out to unknown parts, I'll need you two to handle the situation that's arisen instead."

"And what appears to be the situation, Head Scarf?" Merga asked out of respect.

Natalya would pull up the map of Avalice, soon indicating to the several red marked areas south of the kingdoms. "We've got several readings of spacial distortion coming from the lower Dragon Valley areas of Avalice. I need you two to head out there to investigate; this could be very important."

"Any precautions you should have us know about the area?" Corazon asked. "Like, any terrain hazards we should be aware about?"

"The recent incidents that have ravaged the area may have made the terrain unstable; there could be collapsing ledges and sharp rubble strewn across the entire area meaning it's extremely hazardous. It's best that you two proceed with caution; this could be playing with fire as to what we're dealing with."

Corazon nodded, keeping ahold of the Chaos Emerald. "And what about this?" She asked. "I was gonna leave it here so it gets to the Mobius base, but-"

"You're thinking that this energy signal might be a way in order to restore the Emerald's power?" Natalya asked.

"It just might be the ticket we need to start turning the tides of this war in our favor." Corazon said, looking to Merga. "After all, Merga would know about them, right?"

"Wh-what?" Merga asked.

"Hey, you were the one who told me the Emeralds were important." Corazon answered back.

Natalya sighed, pinching her forehead. "Look, I don't care who knows what, I just need reports, understood? This could be a threat to our entire resistance."

Corazon smirked. "Hey, don't worry. Merga and I have got this in the bag."

"For your sake I better hope you do." Natalya sighed, frustrated. "Dismissed."

With the wildcat and the dragon leaving the room, soon enough Zeena entered into the room. "Alright, so, the teleporter ready for me to head out?"

"Yes." Natalya said. "Go ahead and head over to the base with that stone we recovered and see what that thing is all about."

"Alright." Zeena said. "And hey."

"Yeah?"

"I... really appreciate the help for all this." Zeena said before she left the room.

* * *

With the rocks crumbling from beneath the blue hedgehog's feet, Classic kept the speed up as he zipped across the crumbling cliffs of the now desolate Dragon Valley, soon leaping and smashing through a burnt wall of one of the small pagodas, it shattering on impact as the hedgehog rolled across the ground before rerightening to his feet, keeping pace. Not far behind him, Cyclone would land, shaking a bit from the impact with the ground as soon she took after the hedgehog.

"Dammit Classic, slow down!" She angrily muttered to herself as she kept after the hedgehog. She was already worried enough that he was going ahead with throwing caution to the wind, she didn't need Classic getting himself killed here and now!

With the hedgehog not listening to her, she only had one last option, and she wasn't liking it; she'd have to maneuver a takedown on him.

Looking for a route to get ahead of him, she soon curled into a Dragon Boost and smashed through the rock wall into a tunnel below, spiraling downwards until she burst through the other side, the rocks flying to the wayside as she continued her route through the charred valley.

The rest of the group, meanwhile, were still keeping tabs on where the two were headed, and Coral immediately had concerns.

"They're headed straight for Rage Ravine!" The wildcat said as she checked the scanner. "Oh no, they're going to be in serious trouble if they head there!"

"Wait, why's that?" Tails asked.

"Rage Ravine is one of the most dangerous places in the lower regions of Avalice for its unstable terrain!" Carol said. "The only ones I can remember being able to survive and actually live there are Hanna and Rob, and even then, who knows how worse it's gotten from the attacks on both the worlds!"

Tails was already starting to get concerned enough from that alone, but then Omega's update made it worse.

 **"IT APPEARS THE ENERGY SIGNALS OF SPACIAL DISTORTION ARE MATCHING THOSE OF THE HOUND."** Omega droned. **"IT WOULD BE ADVISABLE TO-"**

Tails slammed on the gas as Carol's Mech-Cycle rocketed forward after the two small ones.

...

With the dragon soon bursting out of the ground, she'd initiate a tackle that brought Classic down to the ground and the two of them to roll a bit before skidding along the ground, Cyclone on top and pinning Classic on the ground so they were staring face to face.

"You can't just run off like that!" Cyclone angrily said. "You could have very easily gotten yourself killed out there if you keep running face first into danger like that! What if one of that madman's mechs had shown up? Huh? What then?"

Classic struggled to get out from underneath the dragon's firm grip, but that only caused her to keep him firmly pinned down.

"NO!" She yelled right in his face. "What did I say back in Green Hill? We need to work as a team on this! You can't just be running ahead head-first into danger! This isn't a game! There are real lives at stake here!"

Classic would finally shove Cyclone off of him as he got up and dusted himself off before crossing his arms, staring angrily at the dragon girl, sticking his tongue out at her.

Cyclone started to seriously get annoyed at this. "You seriously don't get it do you?! Being a cocky dickcheese isn't going to solve every one of your problems! GHHHHHHH!" She gripped her head in anger as she started stomping away from Classic. "You are SUCH a stubborn idiot!"

Classic would look away from her, angry... before he then saw the large magenta energy blast heading straight for her. Panicking, Classic would rev up a Spindash and slam into Cyclone's back, throwing her out of the way of the energy blast before it collided with him, throwing him to the ground and paralyzing him in the magenta coating of energy.

"Aggghh..." Cyclone said, before whipping around. "What the hell was that..." She started yelling, but soon her voice trailed off when she realized Classic wasn't moving. "C-Classic?"

The dark chuckling from nearby soon confirmed something was dreadingly wrong as the large hound soon descended from above the hedgehog, his tail swishing slowly behind him as the ruby in his chest pulsated with its almost hypnotic glow.

"You..." Cyclone said, fear starting to spike in her chest.

 _ **"Well... not who I was aiming for..."**_ Infinite said, soon lifting Classic into the air with his mind. _**"However... I can make this work."**_

"Put him down!" Cyclone yelled, her tendrils whipping angrily.

 ** _"And why would I do that?"_** The hound said, looking down at the dragon girl. **_"I haven't come all this way out here for destroying the prototypes to have some sort pests come and ruin it, especially not a younger version of the one I loathe so much."_**

Cyclone gripped her fists tightly, but inside her heart was beating faster and faster.

 ** _"You're filled with fear, aren't you?"_** The hound said. **_"As I thought. Underneath all that bravado and all that bad attitude, you're nothing more than just a small scared little girl."_**

"I'm not scared of-"

 _ **"You are."**_ The hound said. _**"Don't attempt to even lie to yourself. Even with your bravado, you know you can't even match a fraction of my power. Even now, your frame is trembling in fear, knowing that this ravine will be your tomb."**_

Cyclone froze when he said 'ravine'. No... he couldn't possibly mean they were there... could he? Her eyes darted across the area, but her fears were coming true...

She had followed Classic so far off course that they had ended up in Rage Ravine.

"No... no..." Cyclone said, her spirit starting to break as she dropped to her knees.

 ** _"And this..."_** Infinite spoke, soon forming a large magenta energy sphere in his hand. **_"...is where you die."_** With that, the hound threw the energy orb right at the dragon at near-blinding speed...

Or it would have, if it hadn't then been launched right back at Infinite and smashed him straight in the chest, causing him pain and to drop the blue unconscious hedgehog. Cyclone gasped and tried to rush to grab her spiny friend, but then a green blur had rushed by and grabbed the hedgehog, rolling into a green furball before it uncurled to show the green feline with dual gunblades, cradling the hedgehog close in her arms.

"Phew!" The wildcat sighed. "That was way too close for comfort."

"You're telling me..." The grey-scaled dragon said, her scales shifting back to cyan, a noticeable burning scar on her tail. "We almost risked losing these two."

"W-wait..." Cyclone said, looking at the wildcat. "C-Cory?! I thought you were exiled from the Scarves!"

The wildcat merely winked and stuck out her tongue. "C'mon! You really think the end of the world is gonna kill me off?"

"That isn't our concern right now Corazon!" Merga spoke. "Get the hedgehog to safety!"

The green wildcat nodded before she took off with Classic in her arms, leaving Merga and Cyclone alone with Infinite. Hands clenched tightly, Cyclone would stare down the hound, a newfound courage starting to burn in her heart.

 ** _"Ah... so there's more insubordination within this world..."_** Infinite said, staring the two down as several red cubes started to form in the air around him. **_"And from the failed project no less... hmph. No matter. I'm going to enjoy taking you apart..."_**

Merga took up a defensive combat stance, getting the bo staff off of her back and wielding it to defend with her life. "I have no fear for you. You may do your worst, but I will not give you the satisfaction of being afraid."

Infinite merely chuckled darkly. _**"I know you won't..."**_ He said, pointing to the small draconic girl. _**"But she will."**_

Cyclone had barely let out a gasp before a strong psychic source threw her to the side away from Merga. She let out a pained gasp as she collided with the rock wall and fell to the ground.

"Young Sash!" Merga said, instinctively leaping for the dragon girl, however soon a massive clear red barrier constructed itself between the two, causing Merga to collide with it and be thrown back. "Ghhh!"

 _ **"Now... where's the fun in that?"**_ Infinite spoke in a taunting manner as red cubes started to form in a swirl-like pillar inside the arena where Cyclone was now in. _**"I'll have her deal with her own little fight... you, on the other hand, are saved for me."**_

Merga grit her teeth, her fists clenching tightly to her staff, glaring down the hound. "You will pay dearly for this."

Cyclone would start to lean up from her pained throw into the wall, weakly opening one of her eyes as she saw the red spiraling cube pillar in front of her forming into a figure... a figure several feet taller than her...

The figure was hulking, the bronze-colored armor reflecting off the low sunlight in the ravine, covering the green skin of the figure's build. The one green cold hand was gripped tightly to a serrated blade, dripping with a burning emerald colored acid... The figure was staring down at the dragon with its burning eyes of hatred, and those eyebrows...

 _Brevon._

The figure stared down at the dragon girl with a toothy grimace as slowly stepped forward, Cyclone starting to scamper backwards into a defensive position. Cornered like an animal, she only had two options out of this.

Fight.

Or die.

Without another word spoken, the eyebrowed figure would dash forward, knife at the ready for a lateral slash. Cyclone tensed up before parrying the slash with her tendrils in a cyclone maneuver, though the acid burned at her skin and hurt like hell. Brevon would leap back into the air before dispersing a set of mines onto the ground around the dragon girl. Cyclone would leap back as the mines exploded, but then felt a searing pain permeate her body as a shot from a plasma blaster collided with her right shoulder. Gripping the burn wound in pain in hopes the heat would clot the veins, she soon felt her throat grabbed as she was thrown into the air by the alien warlord before feeling a sharp cracking blow into her back as she slammed straight into the ground, pinned under by the figure's boots.

Cyclone would struggle to lift herself up from under the Warlord's boots, but soon she felt pressure applied to her back as she wailed in pain, gripping her fists tightly. Feeling the rage bubbling up in her chest, the crystals in her headset would activate as she soon burst out from under the figure at a burst of speed even stronger than her previous Dragon Boosts, throwing the figure off of her and onto the ground. Skidding to a halt before colliding with the side barrier, she'd be in shock from what she had just done, feeling her headset and the now dull crystals...

 _'D-did I just...?!'_ Cyclone internally thought to herself as she could feel her body shaking inside from the excess crystal energy. _'Th-that was...!'_

She didn't have time to process what had just happened as she was soon clocked across the face from Brevon's fist.

Merga, meanwhile, was losing ground fast on fighting Infinite. Nearly every attack she was throwing at him so far was just being brushed aside like it was nothing, every bo strike parried, and every elemental attack merely brushed off like it wasn't even there. She attempted just a head-on rush to even try to get him to flinch before he merely just delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of her and sent her sprawling into the barrier, causing her to hit the ground hard. Gritting her teeth, she'd struggle to get up as Infinite came in for a charging tackle, slamming right into her gut and knocking the wind out of her. Groaning, she'd attempt to get up before the hound would press his boot squarely into the center of her chest, holding a red Phantom Cube in his hand directed right at her face, intending to blow it off.

 ** _"Well... I would say it was a valiant attempt from the ultimate dragon such as yourself..."_** Infinite spoke, as the cube started to pulsate, almost ready to be fired. _**"But that, as they say, would be a lie."**_

Merga would attempt to struggle as she tried to get out from under the hound's foot, but she was rapidly losing time. Reaching for a last resort, Merga would swing her bo staff in an upwards arc as it collided directly with Infinite's mask, throwing the hound off guard and causing him to stagger back as the cube burst just barely next to Merga's head. The dragon would roll away from the attack as she rerightened herself, taking up a defensive position as the hound growled, glaring daggers down at the dragoness.

 _ **"Clever girl..."**_ Infinite growled, summoning more cubes. **_"But not clever enough!"_**

Merga growled, gripping tightly to her staff as she soon rushed at Infinite...

* * *

After getting away a bit from the center of combat, in a sector clearing of trees, the feline soon set down on the ground, laying the hedgehog down in front of her. "Alright, don't worry little spiky one, I gotcha safe now..." She said, checking his pulse from his neck. "Ah, good... he's still alive... I just gotta get him healed up." Digging into her pack, she'd get out a small satchel of Life Petals as well as a small juicer and a syringe. Grabbing the satchel, she'd pour out a handful of petals into her hand as she measured out the amount exactly before putting them into the juicer. Turning it on and grinding up the Life Petals, she kept track of how long she was blending them for before she stopped, leaving the petals as a sparkling liquidy mix. Then taking the syringe, she'd fill it with the liquid Life Petals before lightly inserting it into the hedgehog's arm. The unconscious hedgehog would twinge a bit, but would soon relax as Corazon pushed the contents of the syringe into his system, the juices of the Life Petals working its way into his bloodstream.

"There we go..." Corazon said, lightly ejecting the syringe from his arm. "Should be any second now..."

Soon enough the hedgehog would sit up, shaking his head as he held it in pain, a dazed look in his eyes.

"Ah, good! The Life Petals are working." Corazon said, putting her hands together. "How are ya feeling?"

Classic would merely raise and shake his hand.

"So-so, huh?" Cory said. "I wouldn't blame ya. You really took that hit from that hound like a champ."

As soon as Cory had said hound, Classic looked around before panicking, clearly worried about Cyclone.

"Woah, hey hey, calm down!" Cory said, raising her hands. "She's fine, don't worry! Merga's making sure she's safe right now, I swear! I just got you away from the action because of the damage you took."

Classic started to rush off towards where the battle was taking place, but then Cory grabbed his arm and kept him running in place as he kicked up a ton of dust.

"Woah there -cough- little guy!" Cory spoke, coughing a bit from the dust. "You can't just go running back there head first! You're gonna get yourself killed if ya do that!"

Classic kept squirming as he tried to run towards the battle area, but the dust just seemed to attract something else...

 **"DUST SIGNATURES HAVE BEEN DETECTED AS THE SIGNATURE OF CLASSIC; WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THEM."** A robotic voice droned as soon a large hulking crimson robot and a mint wildcat on a mech-cycle soon appeared on the scene, skidding to a halt. The mint wildcat would be taken aback by who she saw.

"C-Corazon?!" She said, surprised to see the wildcat out here of all places.

Corazon was about to react back, but then she was drawing a blank. "Uhhh... do I know you?"

"...you serious?" Coral said, confused. "You seriously don't remember your own sister?"

Corazon would stop, thinking for a bit as Classic scampered over to Omega's side. Then it hit her like a lightbulb.

"Oh, right! Coral!" Cory said, but then instantly got confused. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead though?"

Coral would sigh. "Long story." She said. "Either way, what are you doing with Classic here? You trying to take him out or something?"

"Hey, I saved his life!" Cory shot back. "If I hadn't intervened and saved him from that hound, he-"

"Hound?!" Coral interrupted. "Infinite's here?!"

"Who?" Cory had asked, confused as to who Coral was meaning. "I mean, Merga and I ran into that hound guy earlier before she had me get the little spiky blue guy to safety, but-"

"We don't have time!" Coral said, pulling Corazon onto the bike. "Which way are they?"

"Off in that direction!" Cory said as the bike took off towards the battle. Omega would pick up the small hedgehog and placed him on his head as soon the robot took off after the two wildcats...

* * *

"Ghhhh!" Cyclone grunted as she was slammed against the barrier of the battlefield, Brevon's grip tightening around her throat as the knife glistened, as if it was hungry for her flesh. Feeling the want for survival rising in her chest, she soon bit down on the hand grabbing her throat, causing Brevon to drop her entirely as she then Dragon Boosted through his legs, knocking him down under his own weight. Skidding to a halt, she then redirected her own center of mass to perform an axel flip upwards and deliver a smashing blow with her boots right into the small of the alien warlord's back. Throwing her off, Brevon growled in rage before he lunged right for the dragon girl, knife poised for a kill. Cyclone initiated another Dragon Boost charge as she started to glow cyan...

Brevon didn't even react before the Super Dragon Boost tore right through his center chest cavity.

The dragon girl skidded to a halt as the figure of Brevon collapsed to the ground, soon flickering out of existence much like Zavok did from the Death Egg. And with his destruction, the barrier containing Cyclone had shattered, setting the dragon girl free. Upon getting herself free, she'd make a dash straight for Infinite and unfurl a Dragon Boost straight into his side while he was distracted with Merga.

The hound growled in frustration as he turned to face the young dragon girl. **_"So, you managed to survive the faux Brevon..."_** He growled, forming a Phantom Arm as he grabbed the young dragon girl, gripping tightly to her frame. **_"Impressive, considering one of your lack of skill. That, however, is your downfall."_**

"No, it'll be YOUR DOWNFALL!" A voice yelled as soon a wildcat attached to a mechanical scythe slashed straight through the Phantom Arm, a look of rage flashing in her eyes. She'd soon skid across the ground as she rightened herself, her scythe wielded in a position with an intent to kill.

Cyclone would land right next to the wildcat. "I appreciate the assistance Wildclaw." Cyclone said.

Carol smirked. "God, haven't heard that name ever since the Scarves." She'd turn her attention back to the hound. "And now you'll get yours!"

 ** _"Ghhh... I've wasted enough time here..."_** Infinite said, cubes forming around him. **_"The next time we meet, your end will be at hand!"_** And with that, the hound disappeared in a shower of red sparkles...

Carol slumped her shoulders and sighed in relief. "Well, that went better than I expected..."

"I'm thankful you showed up when you did." Cyclone said. "Otherwise... well, I might not be here right now."

"Hey, what can I say?" Carol said, kneeling down to Cyclone's height. "Even if I'm not the Carol you know, we're still a team here. And more importantly, we're still friends; one that I made a promise to."

Cyclone nodded. "I remember the one I made to my Carol..."

"That we would stick together, even until the bitter end." They both said in unison as Tails soon came rushing in on the scene to Merga's side.

"Merga, are you alright?" Tails asked, showing concern for the dragon.

"I'll be fine, Tails..." Merga spoke. "I'm happy to see that you and Carol managed to survive this ordeal..."

Tails nodded. "It wasn't easy with what we were doing, but..."

"I must ask though..." Merga spoke. "What happened to Sash and Sonic? They seem... younger than when we last saw them."

"Ah, that..." Tails said, looking over at Cyclone interacting with Carol. "It's... a long story..."

"Aw, DAMMIT!" Another voice said as the two wildcats and Omega with Classic arrived on scene. Turns out it was Cory that had said that. "We missed all the action!"

Both Tails and Carol froze up upon hearing that voice. "CORAZON!" They both yelled.

"Hey hey, hold up!" Cory said, holding her hands up. "I'm on your side guys! I'm serious!"

Tails and Carol stopped, confused. "What?"

* * *

"...So you seriously can't remember a thing?" Carol asked.

Cory shook her head. "I'm slowly regaining my thoughts of what happened over time, but a good chunk of it's still a major blank." She spoke. "Either way, what have you two been up to? Everyone's been in a panic ever since you guys disappeared..."

"Oh..." Carol said, her ears drooping. "Well, we were looking for a way to get our Sash and Sonic back, but..." She said, looking to Classic and Cyclone. "These two are our only shots we've got right now."

"Is this why you've been so radio-silent about your whereabouts?" Merga asked.

Tails nodded in response. "We've got no choice at this point; and if we're gonna succeed, we're gonna need to find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds so-"

"Wait, you said Chaos Emeralds?" Cory asked.

 **"UNLESS YOU ARE DEAF, YES, THAT IS WHAT HE SAID."** Omega said as Cory reached into her bag and pulled out the corrupted lavender gemstone.

"You wouldn't happen to mean this, would you?" Cory asked.

Tails and Carol's jaws dropped. "You've got one?!" They both exclaimed simultaneously.

"From some scrapped tin cans treading on my turf at Pangu Lagoon." Cory said, tossing the gem to herself. "Was lucky I grabbed it when I did; otherwise I wouldn't have met up with Merga and learned about them a fair amount."

Merga nodded. "We were hoping we would eventually going to run into Sonic and Sash to deliver the Emerald ourselves, but..." Her face fell a bit. "After hearing what you've told us, that's not a possibility, is it?"

Tails sadly shook his head. "Until we find a way to bring back our Sonic and Sash... Classic and Cyclone are the only options we have of standing against Infinite."

"Well then," Cory said, tossing the Chaos Emerald to Carol, who caught it in her hand. "Better take this with ya sis; you're definitely gonna need it more than I will."

"What about you guys though?" Carol said.

"We'll have to get back to Natalya." Merga said. "She sent us out here for investigation to begin with, so we best report back to her. "

Tails nodded. "Put in a good word for us, could you?" He asked.

Cory nodded. "No prob li'l foxy! We'll make sure Head Scarf's all caught up on the situation."

Carol nodded. "Thanks... sis." She said, finally smiling for the first time at Cory. The wildcat returned the smile as she and Merga then took back off for Shang Mu.

 **"IF YOU ARE NOT TO BUSY WITH SENTIMENTAL REUNIONS,"** Omega said, his eyes flashing a bit. **"MY SENSORS HAVE PICKED UP A NEW DISTURBANCE OF SPACIAL FLUCTUATIONS BACK ON MOBIUS."**

"What?!" Both Tails and Carol exclaimed.

"We might be onto something big here if we keep following these signals..." Coral said. "So, where we picking it up from?"

 **"THE SOURCE SEEMS TO BE IDENTIFIED AT THE EPICENTER OF THE MYSTIC JUNGLE."** Omega said.

"Mystic Jungle..." Tails thought, before he froze. "Th-that's on South Island!"

"Well what're we waiting for?!" Carol said. "Let's get moving before Egghead gets to that source first!"

The group nodded before taking off for Mobius...

* * *

 **With two of the seven Chaos Emerald now within the grasp of the rag-tag AvaMerc, things are definitely now looking up as they made a meeting with an old friend and new ally. However, with the road ahead as daunting and intimidating as ever, will the group be able to hold their courage and hope together as the war escalates? And how are things going back at the Mobius Resistance Base? Find out next time in Chapter 13: "Heart of the Hounds"...**


	14. Chapter 13: Heart of the Hound

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Intermission 2  
_**

 _Chapter 13: Heart of the Hounds_

* * *

Things had boiled down to an unbearably slow crawl at the Mobius Resistance Base after the incident at Mystic Jungle; most of the crew were simply looking for something to do while they waited for updates on Zeena's arrival or any new opportunities they could get at striking against the mad doctor's empire expanding but... there was almost nothing in the way of updates. It was almost as if since Milla, Aaron, and Silver did their job of stopping the leveling of the Mystic Jungle, the doctor put all his actions on standby or had just gone fully radio-silent to prevent them from intervening.

Unnerved but still trying to keep up, Amy had already stored in the data about the HBH she had gotten from Neige onto their data backups, knowing fully well they'll come in handy for taking care of them when the time came. Taking a deep breath, she'd turn around and look around at the rest of the resistance group; Knuckles looked like he had something on his mind as he was looking after the Master Emerald, Gemerl was still taking care of Cream's emotional state, the jackals were discussing something with eachother, Tangle and Aaron were having a discussion to eachother, Salamon was still tinkering with some of the Badniks retrieved from outside the base...

Wait, where was Milla? She was just here in the base a minute ago... Amy started to grow concerned as she looked around the base. She could have sworn Milla was hear earlier...

"Hey, guys?" Amy asked. "Has anyone seen Milla?"

Tangle would look over to Amy. "I think she went off to meditate or something..." The lemur said, her tail curled around herself. "Try checking the larger pipes, I think there's a small grove nearby she might be at."

Amy nodded. "Alright, thanks Tangle." She said, soon walking off to the pipes, but not before grabbing a bag nearby she had gotten recently when she snuck out of the base. Keeping quiet and sticking to the walls, she slowly made her way through the pipe system until she found one broken down area, leading off the beaten path. Moving quietly down that, she'd soon see that the basset hound had herself sitting cross-legged in the middle of a small set of grass, a bit of light filtering in from a storm drain from above. The hound's chest was lightly rising and falling, her eyes closed as if she was in deep thought, her tail curled around her torso. The small amount of trickling water nearby made the place seem serene to relax at...

Of course, until Amy disturbed her, that is.

"Is everything okay Milla?" The pink hedgehog asked, walking up to the basset hound.

Milla took a deep breath as opened one eye, looking behind her. "Yes?" Milla asked. "What is it?"

"I... wanted to check on you and make sure everything's alright..." Amy said, setting the bag down next to the basset. "I... brought you something that might help you out a bit."

"Hmm?" Milla asked, taking the bag.

"I... took the liberty of getting you a new outfit..." Amy said. "I know you've spent some time in your old one, but... you've basically been wearing it alone for the past six months... maybe it's time for a change?"

"...I'll look at it when I'm done meditating, okay?" Milla spoke, taking a deep breath. Amy merely nodded as she left the grotto, leaving Milla to herself.

...

A few minutes later, the basset hound was looking herself over in the mirror in the grotto wearing her new apparel she was gotten: black form-fitting compression shorts with emerald green trim along with a matching sports bra and short covers that went under her bracelet inhibitor rings and anklet inhibitor rings. She'd stare at the reflection of her slender figure in the mirror; she had grown a lot ever since her first adventure with Sash and Carol. Her frame became more toned, a small amount of muscle starting to build from her training, her figure becoming a bit more curvy and alluring. Turning to look at her backside, setting a hand on her hip, she'd see how much thicker her tail has become over the years...

She sighed, shaking her head; the glory days of being an Avalice mercenary were behind her now. Now was a time of toil and survival; a time of saving their worlds... even if it meant she was potentially the only surviving member of AvaMerc left. She sighed, gripping her fists as she tried to prevent the tears from falling.

She'd do this for everyone.

For Carol.

...for Sash.

Walking back out to the main base room, she'd see Salamon tinkering with the Badniks again, probably trying to get another one set up for RC control. Feeling up to conversation a bit, she'd walk over to see what he was doing.

"So... whatcha up to?" Milla asked, walking over and leaning next to Salamon.

"O-oh!" Salamon said, startled by the sudden appearance of the female hound. "I-I was doing some modifications to this Motobug..." He was blushing as Milla seemed to lean next to him, looking in on his work.

"You making this one a recon robot too like Saffron?" Milla asked, her tail swishing slowly.

"Y-yeah..." Salamon said, feeling Milla's tail brush against his. Seems like he was really starting to get flustered with Milla's presence, desperately trying to hold in his howls...

"A Motobug would seem a bit limited though..." Milla spoke, leaning over to check the Motobug frame he was working on. "Eggman usually has these things with low-power motors so they can only be scouts in numbers..."

"W-well, that's w-why I'm..." Salamon was having a hard time focusing with Milla in his way, essentially wearing nothing but a sports bra and compression shorts...

Eventually, he couldn't hold it in any longer; Salamon let out what was probably the most adorable howl possible before clamping his hands over his mouth, blushing embarrassingly as his eyes were wide. Milla stared at him in confusion as his tail frantically thrashed from under him.

"Why'd you stop?" Milla asked.

Salamon was confused. "Wh-what?" He said, moving his hands away.

"That howl was adorable..." Milla spoke.

Salamon blushed. "T-thanks..." Salamon said, leaning forward back to the Motobug. "I'm wanting to get multiple scout robots set up so that way Eggman can't keep track of all of them should one of them can be detected."

"What other models are you planning on using?" Milla asked, picking up what appeared to be a Crabmeat from under the table. "Not sure how much use you'd get out of this one to be honest."

"You'd be surprised." Salamon said, still tinkering with the Motobug. "A Crabmeat unit could give the option for low-laying reconnaissance, and its craw firepower could seriously help defend itself in a tight situation."

"Huh..." Milla said, setting the Crabmeat back down. "Interesting..."

"I'm also thinking of using an Egg Pawn for one of the 'internal spies', but..." Salamon said. "Those ones may be a bit harder to work with due to their more advanced designs compared to the more animal-based Badniks..."

"Hmmh." Milla said, her tail swishing slowly as she watched over what Salamon did. "...I never did thank you properly."

"Huh?" Salamon said, stopping and looking over at Milla. "What do you mean?"

"For saving me all that while back." Milla said. "Back on the Death Egg."

"O-oh, that?" Salamon said. "I-it's nothing, really... Just doing what was right..."

"I appreciate that though..." Milla said. "Amy told me the entire part where you and Aaron came to the Death Egg itself was unintentional... but I really appreciate that I wasn't forgotten..."

Salamon blushed. "H-heh... thanks." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really though," Milla said, leaning next to him. "Thank you, truly... you saved my life back there."

"I-it's nothing, real-"

Salamon was interrupted as Milla placed a light peck on his cheek.

"Wh-wh..." Salamon started before Milla interrupted.

"What, a girl can't show her thanks?" She said, winking at him.

"Alright everyone, heads up!" Amy called from the front area. "We're gonna have Zeena coming through any second now! Everyone look alive and give her an acceptable greeting!" Nearly all of the group would get ready as the Zeti came through the portal, holding the container with the small Phantom Ruby prototype.

"Alright Zeena, welcome to the Mobius Resistance." Knuckles said. "So, you got the goods?"

Zeena would hand the container to him. "Here's the rock, like you guys wanted."

"Hmmm..." Knuckles said, looking over the gem. "Doesn't seem to look like much..." He'd comment, unaware of the Master Emerald starting to pulsate energy behind him.

"Uhhh, Knucky?" Rouge said, pointing to the large green gem. "Is the Master Emerald supposed to be doing that?"

"Wuh?" Knuckles said, before the Master Emerald soon zapped the small gemstone out of his hand and across the room... right in front of Milla.

"...okay! Duly noted." Milla spoke, picking up the small Ruby. "It apparently _really_ doesn't like Chaos Energy..."

She didn't notice the Ruby prototype was starting to glow in her hand... but Finn did, and quickly grabbed the gemstone away from her.

"Hey!" Milla said, stumbling backwards a bit. "What was that for?!"

"Did you not see the stone activating in your grasp?" Finn growled, indicating to the gemstone as its light was dying again.

"What?" Milla asked.

"This thing was activated in _your_ grasp." Finn growled, pointing at Milla. "Much like that damn creature that the fat bastard has been sending after us!"

"Are you accusing me of something?" Milla growled back, starting to grow agitated.

"How do we know he didn't use your DNA with that damn stone to create that monstrocity?!" Finn yelled at Milla, which now was starting to cause some unneeded tension in the group.

"Boss, please, calm down!" Feivel said, trying to hold Finn back. "We can't let rage be gettin' at us in a time like this!"

"Feivel is right." Fiora said. "Finn, this group needs leadership. Anger is only going to lead this resistance to ruin."

Finn grit his teeth as he tossed the gem to Amy. "Whatever..." He angrily muttered. "Jackals, we have something to discuss." The jackal squad would move a bit away from the others as Amy put the ruby in the console.

"Either way..." Amy said, placing the gem into the console. "We'll be able to study this thing easier now that we have an actual copy... oh no..."

Milla tensed up. "What's going on?"

"We've got a code yellow." Amy said, grabbing her hammer. "Eggman's forces are swarming back into Station Square's Star Light Zone district. Loads of Artificial Chaos... and Chaos 2's right at the head of the attack."

"And you're going out by yourself?" Milla asked.

Amy shook her head, looking to two of the others. "Cream, Gemerl, Aaron, Tangle." She said, looking to the four. "You're with me."

"W-wait..." Cream said. "What about the Chaotix?"

"I've already sent out contacts to them to help out with the evacuating." Amy said. "We don't have much time though; we need to get moving or otherwise we're losing that Zone."

Tangle nodded, cracking her knuckles. "About damn time we get some action! Let's crack 'em wide open!"

Aaron nodded in response, his fists igniting. "Let's kick some metal ass."

And with that, the group of five left the base through the sewer system to head straight for the Star Light Zone...

* * *

 **With tensions rising in the Mobius Resistance HQ, Zeena arrives with the Phantom Ruby prototype. But with it's severe reaction to both the Master Emerald and Milla, what exactly does it mean for the already fragile Resistance? With the attack on Star Light underway, stay tuned for its fate in Chapter 14: "War on Park Avenue"...**


	15. Chapter 14: War on Park Avenue

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 3_**

 _Chapter 14: War on Park Avenue_

* * *

Explosions were already rumbling across the city's mountainside as the metallic green roadways were collapsing from the attacks of the empire. The Death Egg sentinels were already taking out massive roadways and building structures as Badnik forces were already scuttling in and rounding up any more Mobians and humans alike. Sirens droned across the city as G.U.N. forces were trying to launch counterattacks against the massive sentinels, but were losing ground fast as the sentinels were pulverizing them underneath their massive drilling fists. It looked like within minutes, the city would fall under control of the doctor's forces... if it didn't fall apart itself. With the Badnik forces already overwhelming the G.U.N. mechs, it was an uphill battle as the group of five arrived on the scene.

"This isn't good..." Amy said, reaching for her headset. "I need a status update on the civilians who are still missing! Can anyone report in?"

"Espio here." The chameleon responded over the headset. "We're currently over-engaged with the Badnik forces and can't search for any survivors right now!"

"There's just too many of 'em!" Charmy piped in. "It's like a metal flood!"

"Alright, hold your positions!" Amy said. "I'll be there shortly for backup!" She then ended the comm discussion before turning to the rest of the group of five.

"Alright, split up." Amy said. "I'll head out and regroup with the Chaotix. Aaron, Tangle, you guys sweep through the west sector and clear out any Badniks in the way to send them into a scramble. Cream, Gemerl, you two are on survivor search duty. Find anyone still surviving and get the teleported out of there as soon as you can!"

"R-right!" Cream said, looking to the gizoid. "Gemerl, are your scanners functional?"

Gemerl nodded in response. "They are already calibrated to detect Mobian or humans. It should be available for proper detection."

"Th-then let's go!" Cream said, the two taking off down into the speeding roads below. Amy would then turn to Aaron and Tangle. "Alright then, are you two ready then?"

"I've been ready." Aaron growled, cracking his knuckles. "Time to make some slag."

Tangle was bouncing on her feet, eager to wreck some Badniks. "Let's make some noise!" She said, the eagerness in her voice apparent. And with that, the two took off for the west ruined sector of Star Light.

With that, Amy was by herself at the top of the perch as she looked out ahead. Taking a deep breath, Amy jumped down and started running along road, he hammer right at her side as she soon saw Badnik forces ahead of her. Gritting her teeth, she'd grip tightly to her hammer as she swung in a top-like motion, barreling through the Badniks as scraps started flying. Keeping her focus, she'd keep her speed as she weaved through some collapsed debris on the road, soon having to dodge on the fly as more debris was flung her way. Soon using her hammer as a launcher, she hammer jumped into the air out of the way of the collapsed roadway... right as a massive chunk of debris was being thrown at her.

Amy wasn't sure what happened next, it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion... next thing she knew the debris flying at her was blown to smithereens. She could've sworn she saw something that looked like a projectile resembling a Black Bomb Wisp though...

She shook her head; now wasn't the time to get distracted! Landing across the other side of the collapsed roadway, she'd keep her speed as she headed off into the lower city...

From a nearby roof, a small trail of smoke would be coming off of the barrel of an oddly shaped weapon as the canine figure stared through her mask at where she shot the debris that was going to hit Amy. Taking a deep breath, she'd holster the weapon onto her back as she soon leaped down from her position to give pursuit after the hedgehog...

With her speed kept, Amy was soon dodging out of the way of massive laser blasts from the Death Egg sentinels singular eyes. "Everyone, keep on your guards of those sentinels!" She yelled over her comm unit. "Those lasers are high grade incendiary and could melt straight through the ground!"

"Roger that!" Cream responded.

"No problem!" Tangle responded.

Amy would hang up as she skidded under a downed skyscraper, nearly getting her cheek scraped by some broken windows as she burst through the other side. Gripping tightly to her hammer, she swing it straight into a Motobug which would send it careening into a group of Egg Pawns, bowling a perfect strike as she hooked around the corner with the mallet end of her hammer. Hooking out over the cliff and back around the corner, her path was soon set down the roadway towards the downtown Star Light Zone district.

"Hey uh, Amy?" Tangle responded over the comm. "We've got a major situation out here!"

"What now?!" Amy said.

"Eggman's got those Sentinels mass produced! There's at least nine over here in the city!" Tangle said.

"Uh oh, that's not good!" Vector had soon said on the comm unit. "Amy, that might be too much for the rookies to handle!"

"Who are you calling a rookie?!" Tangle said. "I could wipe the floor with you anyday!"

"Enough you two!" Amy growled. "Vector, status report for your end, now!"

"We've still got a severe surrounding of Eggman's Badnik forces out here!" Vector responded. "I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out here!"

"Just hold your ground!" Amy said. "I'm on my way!" With that she hung up again as she sped down the roadway, keeping her hammer ready as she soon vaulted over another collapsed building onto a higher roadway, soon curling into a ball as she barreled down the slope, soon moving through a giant loop and crashing through the ground into a tunnel below, soon looping around a large pipe and bursting out the other side to a lower section of the city below. Keeping her hammer steady, she'd swing her hammer down and initiated a shockwave that sent the advancing Badniks flying. Panting heavily, she'd heft the hammer back onto her shoulder as she stared ahead at the shrapnel in front of her...

Soon she heard clapping from behind her; she'd turn around to see the Chaotix approaching her.

"Nicely done." Espio said, decked out in his assassin gear. "A fine display of skill."

"Wow, you really showed 'em who's boss!" Charmy commented, decked out i his flight outfit and goggles.

"Oh man! How am I gonna top that?" Vector said.

"Eh heh, thanks..." Amy said, rubbing the back of her head, before looking over to see the advancing Badniks. "Looks like we've got more where those came from though!"

"Then let's get ready to rock!" Vector exclaimed as the four charged at the advancing horde...

* * *

"Alright, accounted survivors are up to thirty-eight." Gemerl said, checking his statistics on what the tracking has done so far. "There should be at least twenty-two left in this area..."

"Are there any close-by?" Cream asked.

"Checking my readings... there's at least three Mobians trapped under debris up ahead." The gizoid said. "Looks to be from a highway collapse..."

Then came another sound...

...one that nearly set the small hero Chao that was with Cream into an upset fury.

"CHAO CHAO CHAO CHAO!" The hero Chao cried, flailing frantically.

"Ch-Cheese?" Cream said, concerned about the hero Chao's state. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"Hold on..." Gemerl said, still checking his scanners. "I'm also picking up a scanning of... a Dark Chao?"

"Dark... Chao?" Cream asked, before she gasped in realization.

Chocola.

Without warning Cheese took off into the other sector of Park Avenue, away from both Cream and Gemerl.

"Ch-Cheese, wait!" Cream said, taking off after the Chao, leaving the gizoid to himself. Keeping herself together, she'd soon slide down a steep slope as she used her robotic arm to punch through the wall near the bottom, rolling through the collapsing wall then landing on her robotic feet as she sprang up to an upper floor of a collapsed building. Keeping pace, she'd rocket-punch through another wall as she kept up after the fleeting Hero Chao, but the distance was starting to grow larger and larger...

Cream soon collapsed to her robotic knees, panting heavily as she struggled to get back up; her thoughts turned to worry. She lost track of where Cheese went...

"Oh no... no..." Cream started to whimper. "CHEESE!" She called. "CHEESE!"

But it was no use; she couldn't hear her little Hero Chao anywhere...

"Oh nononono..." Cream whimpered, frantically trying to look around the building for the Chao as she soon hurtled herself down one of the darker hallways, descending deeper into the ruins of the city and the sewer system...

At that point she'd be hearing the frantic cries of a Chao...

"Cheese!" Cream said, rushing ahead and sliding down the slope of the pipe before she reached a small nexus within the system of pipes. She soon saw what was in front of her...

And her stomach churned like mad from the sight.

Cheese was frantically sobbing on the ground in front of a pole attached to the back of the room, a small figure tied harshly to the pipe itself. The small frail frame of a Dark Chao laid there, unmoving and unresponsive... and looking like it was beaten to hell and back from the dried blood on it...

"Ch-ch..." Cream stammered as tears started to form in her eyes. "CHOCOLA!" She screamed, rushing over and untying the Chao before cradling it in her arms. "C'mon, c'mon... don't lose me..."

"Ch..." The Dark Chao croaked, barely able to open one eye. "Ch... chao?"

"Ch-Chocola!" Cream said, hugging the Chao. "D-don't worry... everything's g-gonna be alright..."

A child-like giggle seemed to reverberate throughout the area, catching the rabbit off guard.

"Wh-who's there?!" Cream stammered, holding Chocola close with her flesh arm while her robot arm morphed into a blaster as she looked around the room terrified. "Sh-show yourself!"

The child-like giggle came again. "If you say so..." The voice said, before an Eggrobo wearing a yellow metal tuxedo and top hat with a red stripe. "Though I do believe this will be the last time we encounter..."

Cream's eyes widened. "Y-you're-"

"Heavy Magician?" The Eggrobo said, taking a bow with its hat. "I'm flattered you know my name, considering your Resistance in general..."

"St-stay back!" The rabbit stammered, aiming her blaster straight at the specialty Eggrobo. "D-don't come any closer... o-or I'll..."

"You'll what, munchkin?~" The Eggrobo taunted. "Try to fight me with the little peashooter of your arm? That's just adorable.~"

"N-not any closer!" Cream stammered, her robotic arm trembling a bit. "I-I'll... I'll..."

Heavy Magician merely giggled again, soon summoning a large box above herself. "Well... you certainly seem less confident in your own abilities..." She said, soon floating into the box as it closed around her. "I guess you won't mind if I..." The box would break to the ground, shattering as mist filled the arena. Cream motioned to Cheese as the Hero Chao took Chocola from her arm and got the injured Chao out of there. Cream's breathing tightened as she could finally see what came out of the box, and it was...

...herself.

Well... not quite; it was like she was looking into a corrupted mirror of sorts. The copycat Cream in front of her had a dark violet fur, the normally orange accents a stark dark red in contrast. The left eye seemed to be nearly gouged out, a red bloody mess in its place as a black liquid seemed to seep from the tear ducts of the eyes. The one eye that was still visible looked dead and lifeless, all the color drained from the iris as it stared back at the rabbot in front of her. The body was a complete reflection of Cream's; the right arm being the robotic one instead of the left. Dried red staining marred the robotic legs and part of the robotic arm.

"...borrow this for a while?" The corrupted Cream said, looking at Cream with a smile filled with malice.

"Wh... wh..." Cream stammered, backing up, back against the wall.

"Oh don't worry sweetie~" The corrupted Cream responded, aiming it's arm straight at the rabbot's head. "I'll make this as quick and painless as possible!" The fist would rocket forward as if to crush Cream's skull underneath its force, but the rabbot dodged out of the way and began to sprint across the arena for the exit.

"Oooohohohoh, no you don't!" The corrupted Cream giggled, soon blasting the entryways shut, leaving Cream trapped. Worse enough, the damage to the room caused it to start building up water...

Cream gulped, soon having to dodge out of the way of another of her corrupted counterpart's punches with the robotic arm. The crazed look in her counterpart's eye mean she wanted her dead, and she wasn't about to abide to that anytime soon. Gripping tightly, she soon threw her first punch of the fight, clocking her faker right across the face. She cringed at feeling the blood from the faker's face running down her metallic arm, but she didn't care anymore

It was kill or be killed.

Leaping back, she'd activate the energy blaster as the center of her arm started to fire out shots at the impostor in front of her. The corrupted Cream grinned wildly as she lept back, soon retaliating with her own energy blast barrage as the red heat shots went right for the rabbot. Cream swallowed hard and lept away, soon charging a rocket punch and flying straight for her double. The double met it with a punch of her own, but then followed it up with a hydraulic spring kick from one of her feet, sending Cream flying into the back wall with enough force to crack the concrete itself. The rabbot fell to the ground, feeling like her back was shattered a bit from the impact to the wall. She struggled to get up as the faker readied another energy blast for her, soon firing it off right at the downed rabbot. Cream gritted her teeth as she struggled to get up, using her arm to activate an energy shield around her body as the shot impacted it, narrowly having her avoid harm.

"Now why are you making things so difficult?~" The impostor Cream said, giggling maliciously in a way that made Cream's skin crawl. "This would all end so much easier if you just gave up!~"

"I-I won't!" Cream stammered. "Not after what Eggman did t-"

She soon felt a sharp slap across her face from the impostor's robotic hand as it glared down at her. "You will NOT insult the High Robotnik with such slander as that name!" The impostor barked. "Now on your knees!"

"N-No!" Cream said, her heart starting to race. "I won't!"

"Keep resisting and I'll make this unsavory for you..~" The impostor growled, holding the blaster to Cream's head. "Now on. Your. Knees."

And right then, right there, Cream couldn't take any more of the abuse of the fight.

"FUCK YOU!" Cream screamed, jamming her robotic arm into her impostor and launching a massive energy blast that blasted her away. "Leave me alone!"

"Ghhhh..." The fake Cream growled, holding its chest. "You really dare to defy the empire?"

"As long as there's still people to fight, there's still hope for Mobius and Avalice!" Cream said, clenching her fists. "We won't ever give up! We won't ever surrender! So long as everyone stands united against people like you!"

"Ghhh... hmhmhmhmhmhm..." The fake Cream started to laugh to herself. "Hhhhahahahahahah... Aaaahahahahahahhahah..."

"Wh-what's so funny?!" Cream said, keeping her arm trained on her corrupted copy.

"You say that they'll stand united?" The copy said, soon showing that her one eye had gone black, a red pupil inside it. Soon enough the back of the faker rabbot's outfit burst open as large mechanical spider legs and crawed arms came out of the back. The tattered clothing fell away as the faker's head spun 180 degrees, the ears changing into chained spikeballs. The red eye would stare back down at the rabbot, the pupil twitching violently as a sharp toothy grin appeared on the now completely twisted copy's face. "They'll just have to stand united without you..." She giggled in her now distorted voice.

Cream felt her heart rate spike, her adrenaline starting to rush to her head as her blaster got ready.

"I'm not scared... I'm not scared...!" Cream said, a newfound determination burning in her eyes. "I'm not scared!"

With that, the mechanical spider-like Cream fake lunged for the real rabbot, the pincers primed for a kill. Cream would dodge roll to the side before using her robotic arm and gripping one of the legs, tearing it off with the enhanced strength of the robotics. The faker screeched before the craw shot straight for her. Cream gasped before leaping back, the craw slicing straight through her overall leg and into her leg. Cream inhaled in pain as she felt the weight of the limb start to set in, feeling the sparks giving power lapses to it every so often. With a half-dead limb, Cream knew she'd have a lot of a harder time to dodge the assault from the faker. With a loud screech, the mechanical spider would rush forward at Cream, swinging its spike-ball ears with intent to crush the rabbot. Cream lunged to the side out of the way of the massive spikeballs as her robotic hand grabbed the massive mass of iron and steel and lifted it up in her arm. Gritting her teeth, she'd run full force before slamming straight into the mech, launching it backwards against the wall as the roof started to collapse above them.

"Oh no..." Cream swallowed to herself as the building started to collapse, the faker Cream reverting back to Heavy Magician.

"Well, at the very least I can take you down here with me.~" Magician spoke, soon taking off her hat as missiles were flung into the ceiling. "Now goodbye sweetie~" She said, before pulling herself into her hat and disappearing in a puff a smoke. The ceiling would begin to collapse as large chunks of rock would crash to the ground. Cream gasped as she raised her energy shield as she was soon covered in the rubble...

The rabbot coughed, pushing the rubble off of her as she struggled to climb out of the collapsed crater. "Owww..." She moaned, holding her leg in pain. It had lost power at this point; it was dead weight. Panting, she'd limp along as she tried to navigate the rubble...

"Chao chao!" A cry sounded as Cheese came back down over through the ceiling of the sewer.

"D-don't worry Cheese..." Cream said. "I'll be fine..." She limped towards the opening in the ceiling before raising her robotic arm upwards, firing off her fist as a grappling hook as it latched onto an exposed pole, slowly reeling herself up out of the pit...

"I-is Chocola going to be alright?" Cream asked the hero Chao.

"Chao..." Cheese said sadly, looking dejected.

"Oh..." Cream said, looking sad. "He's that badly hurt?"

"Chao..." Cheese glumly responded. It seemed like the little Chao was going to burst into tears any second...

"..." Cream was silent as she soon pulled the hero Chao in and hugged him to her chest. "Don't worry Cheese..." She whispered into the Chao's ear.

"We'll get through this... together."

* * *

Explosions would rack across the city and highways as Aaron and Tangle tore through most of the enemy Badnik forces, scrap metal flying like mad before Aaron took off after one of the giant roaming sentinels.

"Aaron!" Tangle yelled. "What in the hell are you doing?!"

"If we can take down one of these things, it's definitely gonna leave a dent in their forces!" Aaron yelled back, soon leaping up the gigantic robotic mech. Tangle growled to herself as her tail bashed another oncoming Egg Pawn before she took off after the lion. With the lumbering mech setting its sights on another laser blast of the city skyline, Aaron saw this as the perfect opportunity to take off up the back of the sentinel's legs, soon gripping onto the gigantic rear end of the massive mech. With his hands soon igniting, he'd soon start burning straight into the rear end of the gigantic mech. The mech would start to go haywire as it seemed to slowly flail around as if something was going wrong with it before it fell backwards, the weight of the mech causing the entire thing to crumple from the force it hit the ground at. Tangle skidded to a halt as she saw the wreckage in a complete slag heap, Aaron soon burning through the slag heap and coming out on top.

"See, I told ya there was no problem!" Aaron said, smirking cockily.

Tangle sighed in relief. "We really can't risk something like that Aaron!" The lemur said. "What if Egghead's forces start coming after us even harder?"

"Please, you really think he's gonna be that difficult?" Aaron commented.

"Get serious Aaron!" Tangle said. "I may want to thrash these bots just as much as you do, but we can't do this like this! This type of chaos could potentially jeopardize this entire situation!"

"I'm sure we can handle it." Aaron said, soon seeing a swarm of Artificial Chaos flying over the city. "Oh, wouldja look at that? Looks like the backup regime is right on schedule!"

"That is a large mob of Artificial Chaos..." Tangle said. "You sure we can take those?"

"Please, a little amount of water buckets aren't gonna slow me down!" Aaron said, lunging forward towards the horde of robots. "Now let's make some noise!"

Tangle sighed, taking off after the lion as she soon coiled her tail and sprang into the air, swinging her tail in a top-like motion as she tore through several of the floating heads. Aaron's fists ignited as it slammed through several more mechanical beasts as the Artificial Chaos swarmed in more...

Soon enough a larger water blob would splash down into the ruined plaza where the duo was fighting, causing the two to leap back in shock as the water started to form into a figure...

"Chaos!" Tangle yelled, backing up, seeing the bony structures in his arms. "And he's in his 2 form!"

Right after Tangle said that, the water blob would summon the other nearby artificial Chaos around it, forming some kind of protective shielding around him as he lumbered forward towards the two.

"Got any ideas?" Tangle said to Aaron.

"Throw me." Aaron said.

"What?"

"Throw me at the heads!" Aaron yelled as Chaos 2 lunged at the two, causing Aaron and Tangle to split across the arena. "If I can take them down, there might be way to strike directly!"

Tangle grit her teeth, extending her tail to the lion. "Grab on then!" She yelled As Aaron curled up into Tangle's hand at the end of her tail before she hurtled her straight towards the Artificial Chaos heads, tearing through at least three of the ten heads forming the shield. Aaron would rebound off the far wall using his feet, going for another head before the watery tentacles slapped him away, causing him to hit the ground hard. Aaron growled in pain as he dodged backwards, the tentacles piercing the ground where he was before. Throwing fireballs as a distraction, he'd soon look over to Tangle to signal for a sneak attack, which she picked up on. Slinking around behind the massive watery creature, she soon went on the attack, smashing up four more of the Artificial Chaos heads. But this left her wide open, which caused her to get flung by the watery tentacles to the side into a wall.

"You alright?!" Aaron yelled, before he got slapped aside as well into another wall.

"Uuuugh..." Tangle growled. "Does it look like it- AACK!" She screamed, soon gripped by the watery arm of Chaos 2 as the bony endoskeleton arm tightened around her throat, the lemur thrashing to get free.

"Hold on!" Aaron said, rushing for the arm as he tackled the stone in the central bony structure. Chaos 2 would screech in pain as it released Tangle from its grip, staggering backwards and glaring straight for Aaron . The lion would set the lemur down away from the fight as he soon returned to it, arms ignited and ready to fight. Chaos 2 morphed into the giant watery orb and started bouncing towards the feline, intending to crush him. Aaron dodge-rolled to the side and delivered a flaming punch to the orb, but then felt a recoil as the shield from the heads shocked him, throwing him backwards back as well. Chaos 2 would collide against the wall and bounce to the ground, reforming back into the normal form as the Artificial Chaos came back down to shield him again. The lion growled as he cloaked himself in flames before charging right at the watery god figure, roaring in anger.

Chaos 2 merely smashed him out of the way, landing him in a pile next to Tangle.

"Aaagh..." The lion moaned, breathing hard. Gritting his teeth, he'd struggle to get up as Tangle did the same, her tail twitching violently as she glared down the watery being.

"Alright asshole..." She growled. "You want a fight? You got one!" Her tail would lash out and grab a chunk of rubble, soon slinging it fast and hard at the remaining Artificial Chaos heads as the rubble crashed through them, taking down Chaos 2's shield in the process. The lemur, not letting her opportunity go to waste, soon sprung into action as she coiled her tail and used it to rocket forward, slamming it in straight into Chaos 2's brain. The large creature reared back in pain before it's eyes flashed, and then suddenly the terrain underneath the group gave way, sending them plummeting into the sewer basin below...

Tangle managed to land on a floating manhole above the water's surface, she swallowed hard looking over the edge; she didn't wanna know how deep that water went. Quickly panic-reacting, she'd extend her tail and grab Aaron right as he fell before she pulled him to her side.

"You alright?" Tangle asked.

"A little bruised..." Aaron moaned as the watery lake below rumbled as a section of it glowed magenta.

"Looks like he's going for a round two..." Tangle spoke. "Let's give him hell."

Soon enough, the newly evolved Chaos 4 would leap out of the water, arms extended as the re-entry into the water kicked up a lot of splashwaves, causing several of the other platforms to sink in the process. Tangle gritted her teeth as she moved fast, soon using her tail as a grapple to swing off an exposed overhanging pipe to another floating platform as Aaron used the walls to his advantage to avoid the sinking platform.

"Stay spread out!" Tangle yelled. "There's no way he can target us both when we're like this!"

Aaron nodded, but the flailed as he felt the platform rising from under him, Chaos 4's watery claws lifting the platform up as he surfaced. Tangle soon sprang into actrion as her tail clenched hard into the back wall, coiling up tighter than anything she had done before rocketing forward fast and hard, slamming straight into Chaos 4's brain stem as he burst open into several tiny water bubbles that sunk back into the murky sewer depths. Rebounding off the wall, Tangle would land back on her feet on the same platform Aaron was on.

"And she sticks the landing!" Aaron commented, getting a grin out of the lemur. Though the grin wouldn't stick for long as the platform started rumbling again, causing the two to dodge out of the way as the platform rocketed up from the water geyser underneath. Leaping to another platform, Tangle would not stay still for a second as she soon launched herself off to the next platform. Gritting her teeth, she'd soon see four large Chaos bubbles rising up out of the water as they started blasting after the lemur. Tangle tensed up as she flung herself to the next platform as each water ball collided with the wall, dispersing back into the water. As soon as the fourth ball collided with the wall, Chaos 4 reformed and attempted to arm slash at the lemur... before getting struck in the brain stem by Aaron. Chaos 4 dispersed back into the water again before the platforms starting getting burst into the air by the water geysers again.

"I think one more solid hit on him oughta put him outta commission!" Tangle said. Aaron nodded to her right as Chaos 4 burst up from the water and flipped, splashing down into the water again, creating more splash waves as the platforms sank. Tangle and Aaron split up yet again, keeping separate as Chaos 4 started to target the lemur again. Gritting her teeth, she'd swing off of the hanging pipes before slamming her feet and rebounding off the wall, dodging out of the way of a watery claw slash. The lemur grit her teeth as soon she launched herself straight for Chaos 4 again, intending to end this fight for good...

..and then was caught off guard as the liquidy being intercepted her attack and attempted to hold her underneath the murky wet. Tangle struggled as she tried to break free of the grasp of Chaos 4...

...and then Aaron slammed his foot right into the brainstem of Chaos 4, causing him to release his grip on Tangle. The watery creature would explode into several fragments as Aaron would get Tangle out of the sewer system.

"Hey, you alright?" Aaron asked.

"Y-yeah..." Tangle said. "Thanks for saving me back there..."

Aaron nodded. "Anything for a teammate." He said, before getting a notification on his comm unit. "Aaron and Tangle of Badnik Wreckage, what's up?"

"Is everything alright over there?!" Amy exclaimed in a panicked tone. "We just got massive spikes of energy over there a few minutes ago! You two aren't hurt are you?!"

"Naaah, just a little run in with Chaos, that's all-" Tangle started, before she was interrupted.

"CH-CHAOS?!" Amy squeaked. "Oh jeez! R-regroup now! I can't risk you guys fighting him again in this state!"

"But-"

"Guys, please!" Amy said. "With the risk of Infinite running around and potentially doing anything with his power, he could've turned him into Perfect Chaos for all we know! Get out of there!"

"...alright." Aaron said, ending the comm unit. "Hold on Tangle."

"Roger..." The lemur said as the lion made his way across the ruins towards Amy's location...

* * *

"I think that oughta be the last of 'em!" Vector said as his jaws crunched the remaining Egg Pawn in the area. "Charmy, ya got the visuals up there?"

"Yeah, I think I got it!" Charmy said. "We got 'em on the run! I think part of your team's fight with Chaos must've driven 'em off!"

"Excellent." Espio said. "That should keep Station Square cleared for now... Amy?"

"I'm alright." The female hedgehog said. "I get this sinking feeling though... something else must have been driving them out. I'm not sure even with our small group size we'd be driving them out like that..."

Espio's eyes would soon dart to the rooftops, seeing the cloaked figure above as it turned and darted from view. "Well then, I think I can see who was the cause...!" He said, soon disappearing as the leaves surrounded him.

The figure would still be rushing across the rooftops as Espio then rematerialized right in front of them, kunai brandished at the ready as Charmy, Vector and Amy came in from behind. The masked figure, glancing from left to right, seeing their escape route was completely blocked out.

"Nowhere to run." Espio said. "You were the one responsible for Eggman's forces retreating, weren't you?"

"..." The masked figure remained silent, glancing between the two sides.

"Explain yourself. Now." Vector said.

"...very well." The voice said, moving the technological kabuki mask to show a female canine face of a wolf, brown muzzle and biscotti fur with a patch of white outlining her sharp eyes. "I do not like speaking for long. That man's eyes are everywhere."

"Just who are you?" Amy asked.

"You can call me as 'Whisper'." The wolf said quietly. "We not stay here for long. They could be coming back any second."

"But you sent them on the run!" Charmy exclaimed. "With all of us, there's no way they could be coming ba-"

"You don't understand!" The wolf said. "That army could be marching themselves back here a hundred times stronger as we speak. The longer we stay, the more li-"

"O-oh my god! WHISPER?!" A new voice said, one that the wolf recognized.

"Tangle?!" The wolf exclaimed, raising her voice for the first time since the encounter as the lemur tackled her into a bear-hug.

"Oh my god girl! You're alive!" Tangle exclaimed as Aaron finally came onto the scene. "I though those metalheads got to you first!"

Whisper merely shook her head. "They may have numbers, but they lack intelligence." The wolf spoke, looking to the rest of the group. "We need to move. Now. Longer we stay, more likely we die."

Amy nodded, hitting up her comm. "Cream? Gemerl? Are you two there?"

"Yes, Amy?" Gemerl answered from the comm unit.

"They're on the run now, we need to head back to base." Amy answered. "Where's-"

"We're already back after rescuing our civilians, Amy." Gemerl said. "Unfortunately, Cream has had a nasty run-in with one of those 'HBH' and her leg has lost power. She's currently resting up here while Salamon attempts to fix it-"

At that point what sounded like a short circuit happened in the background followed by something wooden breaking.

"Key word being 'attempt'." Gemerl dryly added. "We shall await your group's return."

"Understood, Amy out." The pink hedgehog said, looking to the group. "Alright Resistance, let's regroup back at base."

* * *

It wasn't long before Amy and co. returned to the hidden base of Mobius Resistance HQ. Whisper, despite her not talking much, semmed to be much more aloof than anyone else in the base... except to Tangle, who was the only one who managed to get her to talk regularly. Amy figured those two had a past with eachother which was why they were on such good terms with one another, but she didn't want to pry into matters that weren't hers.

Unless it was Eggman's. Then she didn't care.

"So... how's the leg?" Amy asked Cream as she got off the bench.

"I-it's still a little twitchy, but..." Cream spoke. "I think I'll be able to pull through."

Amy nodded, remaining silent for a bit until she spoke. "...I'm proud of you Cream."

"Hm?" The rabbot asked.

"Standing up for yourself against one of Eggman's elite..." Amy said. "You've truly come far as a Freedom Fighter, haven't you?"

Cream sadly smiled, nodding. "Yeah..." Her smile would soon fade though. "I'm worried about what happened though... I don't know if Chocola's going to make it... He was hurt badly when Cheese and I found him in that sewer..."

"I know how much he means to his brother..." Amy said. "And hey, remember Cream."

"Yeah?" The rabbot asked, looking into the hedgehog's eyes.

"If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I'm always here for you, okay?" Amy answered.

Cream smiled as she hugged Amy tightly. "Th-thank you... Amy..."

"It's what friends do..." Amy said, before Knuckles came in.

"Uh... I ain't interrupting anything, am I?" The echidna asked, causing both parties to look at him.

"What is it Knuckles?" Amy asked.

"Y'know that weird gemstone thing that Zeena brought that reacted when Milla touched it?" Knuckles said.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"We're getting similar readings coming from the southern side of Mystic Jungle." Knuckles said, crossing his arms. "I've already sent out Milla and Salamon to check out that signal."

Amy grew concerned. "I know Salamon's going to be okay considering his enginuity he's shown before, but Milla?"

"She hasn't gotten time out in the sun ever since her fight with Infinite." Knuckles said. "I think she could use the fresh air instead of being cooped up here constantly."

Amy sighed. "If you say so..."

* * *

 _ **With a new ally of their cause in the form of Whisper and driving out Station Square of Eggman's forces, things are starting to turn around a bit for the Resistance. However, what are those new energy readings coming off from the Mystic Jungle? Find out next time in Chapter 15: "Reunion at Last"...**_


	16. Chapter 15: Reunion at Last

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 3_**

 _Chapter 15: Reunion at Last_

* * *

The rustling of the leaves would occur throughout the underbrush of the lush jungle as the small blue hedgehog and small lilac dragon burst from the foliage. Skidding across the stone structure, the two would find themselves in a wondrous forest of neon lights and gambling glory. Classic would be seeming to get a joy high from the neon-laced sights around him; the entire jungle ruins seemed to be like a complete casino-filled paradise to him!

"Focus guys!" Tails had said over their comm units. "Omega said the distortion energy is coming from just up ahead! Don't let your guards down!"

"Roger that Miles." Cyclone had said over her comm unit before Classic took off onto the ancient yet modern pinball tables as he soon launched himself through the air and ricocheted off the berry-like bumpers across the board. The fruit would make bouncing sounds as Classic would keep rolling across the board, Cyclone sighing and leaping after him as she skidded down the board and launched herself off a mushroom up to a bar-like structure, swinging off it and landing straight into a slot machine-like device. The dials of the slots would fire up as the torches on the side of the device lit up, illuminating the slots themselves as they soon landed on a spikeball for each slot. A hatch on the bottom of the machine would open up as a large spikeball would be dispensed from the machine, soon crashing through the bottom of the pinball board, allowing Classic and Cyclone to continue onwards.

"Way's open lil' blue!" Cyclone yelled to her hedgehog comrade, who was already speeding through the opening below. "Well, he's already ahead of the curve..." She said to herself as she soon dropped through the opening, sliding down along the viny route and soon ejecting out onto the lower jungle ruins, still illuminated by the neon lights... as well as seeing the Crawl badniks were out and about patrolling the area.

"Company." Cyclone stated, her tendrils twitching. "Well, looks like we gotta-"

She'd be interrupted as Classic would then be bouncing off them inbetween their bumper shields.

"Or, y'know... do that I guess..." Cyclone sighed, soon tendril slashing one of the Crawls and causing the other one to try and flee.

It didn't get more than two feet before Cyclone slammed Classic's spinning ball right into the exposed back, scrapping it as well.

"Right then, let's get moving." She said, before the two would keep moving off into the deeper parts of the jungle. More Crawl badniks would be squirming around the area as the duo worked their way across the lush neon-rampant ruin landscape. Soon launching off a flipper, Cyclone would swing around another pole before landing near the other side of the board. "You keeping up Classic?"

The hedgehog would faceplant straight onto the ground next to her.

"Well that's one way to answer..." Cyclone said, sweatdropping. "Just keep up, I get the feeling we're getting close." She said as she soon took off ahead into the jungle more as Classic followed after her. With the bouncing mushrooms sending them all across the place, Classic soon landed on the far side of the pinball boards, Cyclone right behind him as the two went deeper...

* * *

"How deep is the signal coming from?" Milla spoke as both she and Salamon would be near the crest point of the Mystic Jungle.

"Well... looks like it's a bit distant from here..." Salamon said, checking his own handheld scanner. "It's coming from... some sort of clearing point though... this place look any familiar to you?" He asked, showing Milla the map.

The basset hound would look at the layout of the map where the signal was coming from on Salamon's tablet. "Yeah... I think I recognize where that is. That's where I intercepted Infinite fighting Silver..."

"Maybe he left something behind?" Salamon asked.

"It's definitely a possibility." Milla answered, handing the tablet back to Salamon. "However... I'm not sure if we can secure a route there; most of the ruined walkways I rushed through the first time here have collapsed."

"Hmmm..." Salamon thought to himself. "Well... there might be another option..."

"What's that?" Milla asked.

"My map seems to pick up several aqueducts in the nearby area..." Salamon said, looking over the map. "Looks like they convene right down at the area where that signal was..."

"So we take the aqueducts?" Milla asked.

Salamon nodded, pocketing his tablet. "Seems like it. You up for it?"

Milla would nod. "Though... I don't suppose you have a safe way of navigating those aqueducts, do you?" She asked.

Salamon smirked as a newly green Motobug had rolled up next to the two. "I guess you could say I have a way..." He said as the green Motobug was jumping in place.

"Hm?" Milla asked, now noticing the Motobug. "Isn't this..."

"The Motobug I was working on?" Salamon asked. "Yep, meet Ian."

"Ooohh..." Milla said, kneeling down and petting the Motobug. "Hey there little guy..." The Motobug's antennae would be twitching happily as it wheeled in circles.

"Yep, he's gonna be helping us out on this mission." Salamon said. "Isn't that right little buddy?"

Ian would happily bounce on his wheel as small sparks would zap between his antennae.

Salamon smiled. "Alright, go ahead and do your thing."

The Motobug whirred as it soon bounced up and was enveloped in a bright light before it landed back down, transformed into a Bike-class Extreme Gear with Motobug features. Salamon smiled as he got onto the now-bike Ian. "Ready to go Milla?"

The basset nodded, hopping onto the bike with Salamon as soon the Motobug soon revved up before taking off down the watery passage below, kicking up streams beside him as soon more Motobugs started spiraling down the water tubes. Keeping his head, Salamon would steer Ian to sidewind the out of control Motobugs into crashing and exploding into eachother. Milla would keep her murder cubes on hand as she soon slammed them into more of the Motobugs tailing them before Amy's voice rang over the comm units.

"Keep sharp you two!" Amy said. "I'm picking up several life readings headed for the same area you two are!"

"If they're not robots, what are they?" Knuckles had asked over the comm unit before it cut out. The strength of the current along the aqueduct tunnels were becoming much harsher, soon sending the the duo and Motobug into a spiral themselves before they were soon sent sprawling into the next aqueduct, feeling the water washing them further down the aqua road. Milla, trying to rerighten herself, would soon manage to slip to her feet, skidding across the stone halfpipe with the current, gaining on Ian as she soon rerightened the Motobug, who went after the sprawling Salamon and sprung him back onto its back. The husky, gripping tightly to the handlebars, soon rocketed down the watery slide before launching off it onto the ground far ahead as Milla soon followed thanks to a Super Shield Burst, landing directly onto the back of the Motobug Bike. Continuing along the grounded forest floor, Salamon would drift Ian around the corner as the three ramped off a fallen pillar, soon flying over a gap and landing into the next watery slide... which was several times wider than the last ones they were on.

"Hang on!" Salamon yelled as the trio took off down the massive waterslide, soon skidding across the slide before they would be sent hurdling down the smaller path, the severe rocking would threaten to throw them out of the aqueduct altogether. As Milla would tighten her grip around Salamon, the husky would soon rocket straight downwards from the aqueducts before launching off over a massive river with sinking ruins themselves.

"You're coming in hot on the signal!" Amy said over the comm unit. "Keep your eyes peeled!"

"Right!" Salamon said, soon having Ian initiate a grapple that flung the trio over to the stable ground on the other side. Skidding to a halt, Salamon and Milla would hop off Ian as he turned back into his normal Motobug form. With the dense foliage in the area obscuring views, it was hard to find anything related to the signal...

...that was, until Salamon had come across what appeared to be an entryway into some sort of mechanical base. A large steel door with a vault-like handle dial directly in the front would be embedded into the rock wall near some ruins, hindering more exploration progress.

"Woah..." Salamon said, reaching for his comm unit. "Hey, Amy?"

"You find that signal source Salamon?" The pink hedgehog asked from the comm unit.

"No, I need to ask something." The husky spoke, looking over the door. "Is there any sort of vault door or anything on your maps of Mystic Jungle at all?"

"Vault door...?" Amy asked, confused. "I don't think so... give me a second." She said, cutting the comm unit as Salamon would continue looking at the massive door...

Ian meanwhile would be monitoring around the area, his lower frame allowing him to search through the bushes easier. Keeping his small antennae twitching, he'd be snooping around in the bushes, keeping search for any sort of signal...

That was until the Motobug had bumped into something metallic a bit aways from the clearing. The robot froze up as it soon slowly looked up, seeing eyes with a hulking crimson robot... who would turn around and see the Motobug.

 **"KILL!"** The crimson robot yelled as its arms morphed into miniguns and opened fire on Ian. The Motobug screeched as it toon off back towards the clearing, squeaking in fear as it soon broke from the foliage, the leaves flying as it rushed towards Salamon.

"I-Ian?" Salamon said, holding the Motobug nearby, trying to calm it down. "I-It's okay Ian... everything will be okay..."

 **"WHERE DID YOU GO, LITTLE TARGET?"** The other voice said as the large crimson robot lumbered out of the foliage, miniguns at the ready. **"ALL EGGMAN'S ROBOTS ARE TO BE ELIMINATED!"**

"Wh-what the?!" Salamon yelled as the robot would open fire on him. The husky screamed and held up his arms in futile self defense before a blue shield had materialized in front of him from his wrists, the bullets plinked off of it like nothing.

"Omega, stand down!" Another voice said as Tails had rushed onto the scene. "That's not an enemy Badnik! Stop!"

Omega would stop firing momentarily as he looked to Tails. **"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON AS TO WHY."** He droned.

"You nearly turned a survivor into swiss cheese!" Tails yelled, pointing straight at Salamon.

Omega would look back at the husky holding tight to the Motobug. **"...SHITBASKETS."** He droned, retracting his miniguns.

"You just can't act on your murderous drive of destroying Eggman robots Omega!" Tails said. "What if you end up gunning down a survivor?"

 **"JUST BECAUSE I MADE ONE MISTAKE DOES NOT MEAN THAT MY RAGE AGAINST THE FAT BASTARD AREN'T JUSTIFIED."** Omega droned. Salamon would look up from his afraid pose to See Tails arguing with the massive robot.

And almost instantly he'd recognize him.

"W-wait..." Salamon said, getting up. "A-aren't you Tails? A-as in, AvaMerc Tails?"

Tails froze up. "Y-yeah?" He answered.

"Oh my god... the entire Resistance has been worried about your safety!" Salamon said, getting up. "Wh-where were you for the past several months?!"

"W-well..." Tails said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's a long story..."

"Tailsy! You alright?!" Carol's voice said as she and Coral came onto the scene. "We heard Omega firing and came running!"

"I-I'm alright..." Tails said. "Where's Classic and Cyclone?"

"They're still getting here..." Coral said, putting a hand on her hip. "I just don't understand why they thought it was a good idea to go through the casino part of this messed-up place."

"Well, if I know Sonic as good as I know him, his younger self couldn't resist the pinball tables..." Tails said, sweatdropping.

"Salamon?" Milla's voice called, causing both Tails and Carol to freeze up. Their throats tightened as they both realized who the voice belonged to...

"M..." Carol choked out, tears staring to form into her eyes as the basset emerged from the foliage, freezing upon seeing the duo of Tails and Carol...

"T-TAILS! CAROL!" Milla screamed, tackling the two in a bear hug as she sobbed. "Oh my god... O-oh my god... I'm s-so happy you guys are... are..."

"S-same here girl..." Carol sobbed, hugging tightly to the basset. "Same here..."

"Wh-where have you guys been?" Milla asked.

"Well..."

* * *

"...so that's everything that happened huh?" Milla asked, putting a hand on her hip. "Well, I at least relieved to know you guys are safe..."

"Yeah, and with two Chaos Emeralds to boot!" Carol said, holding the blue and lavender corrupted Emeralds. "Still don't know how to get 'em restored though..."

"Well... we might have a way once Salamon and I are done investigating around here." Milla spoke. "Knuckles has the Master Emerald back at Resistance HQ; we could use those to purify the Emeralds!"

"Definitely sounds plausible enough to work, given this is Chaos Energy we're dealing with..." Tails said. "But what about that other gemstone?"

"Good point..." Salamon said, before realizing something. "Hey... Ian? Where'd you go?" His answer would soon come as the Motobug would come back from the bushes, balancing a small magenta gemstone on his head.

"Ah... there he is..." Milla spoke, picking up the gemstone. "This must have been what was causing those signals..."

 **"CAN CONFIRM."** Omega droned. **"MY SENSORS INDICATE THIS SMALL STONE IS THE SOURCE OF THE ENERGY READINGS."**

"You sure Omega?" Carol said, looking at the stone.

 **"DOES THIS FACE LOOK LIKE UNSURE TO YOU?"** Omega sassed, looking at the wildcat. **"I AM INCAPABLE OF LYING. ONLY VERY SEVERE SARCASM."**

Carol would merely roll her eyes as soon Classic and Cyclone would run in on the scene. "About time you two got here!" She said.

"Not my fault someone wanted to get hung up on the slot machines..." Cyclone growled, Classic sticking his tongue out at her.

"Either way..." Salamon said, looking behind at the giant metal door. "We were out here looking for those readings and I stumbled across... that thing..."

"Hmmm..." Coral said, looking and investigating the door itself. "Looks to be about ten inches thick of solding titanium-steel alloy, reinforced with rebarb and concrete and locked with a one-time dial combination..." She said, stepping back. "Alright, I'm gonna need some extra thinking space to come up with a proper way to hack into this door, and even then, we might not be guaranteed to-"

Coral was interrupted as Omega ripped the steel door off its hinges and threw it into the forest.

"...or we could just do it like that I guess." Coral said, sweatdropping.

 **"SOMETIMES THE BEST METHOD IS JUST THE DIRECT ONE."** Omega said as the group would then enter into the abandoned base...

"Well... this is certainly an Eggman base..." Tails said as he soon approached an Eggman console. "But thankfully it looks like we might be able to get some information out of this..."

"So let's see what sort of info we can get out of it..." Tails said, typing into the keyboard...

* * *

It had gone a lot quiet ever since Amy's last update to Salamon and Milla, starting to grow some concern in the Resistance leader's mind; why hadn't the two responded in with any more updates yet? OR were they on their way back and they just wanted to keep their findings of what they had found from their readings a surprise?

She leaned back against the back wall, slowly sliding down it as she sighed; at the very least a text or something would have given her a bit of relief as to their whereabouts. This? This was agonizing not knowing what their safety was.

She jumped when she heard a knock at the base doors.

"Password?" Amy asked.

"Snooping as usual I see!"

The voice nearly made her choke. No. It couldn't have been... could it? Amy hit the lever to throw open the doors faster than she could ever expect to.

She was not dissappointed to see who was on the other side.

"TAILS! CAROL!" She cried, nearly catching attention of everyone else in the base as the group with Salamon and Milla came into the base's quarters. "Oh my god, you guys are alive!"

"The kitsune's alive?!" Tangle said as she leaped up from her seat of talking with Whisper. "And so's the wildcat?!"

 **"WELL WHAT AM I, CHOPPED LIVER?"** Omega stormed in behind after the other two. **"NOT EVEN ONE CONGRATULATORY HELLO EVER SINCE I WAS REACTIVATED AND INITIATED EGGMAN ROBOT GENOCIDE. HONESTLY IT FEELS LIKE I'M THE ONLY ONE PULLING ANY WEIGHT AROUND HERE."**

"Omega!" Rouge said, flying up to the large robot. "I'm relieved you're still okay!"

 **"WELL, AT LEAST THAT'S ONE CONCERNED ABOUT MY CONDITION."** Omega said. **"THAT'S WHAT THIS TEAM WAS FOR. ON THAT TOPIC, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF SHADOW? HE HAS GONE M.I.A. EVER SINCE I WAS REACTIVATED AFTER THAT HOUND TRIED TO GIVE ME A BATH IN MURDER CUBES."**

"We've still got not actual readings on Shadow himself..." Knuckles said from the Master Emerald. "Ever since the rookies got the info and recon pictures that he was working with Eggman's forces, the guy just seems to have disappeared entirely.

 **"..."** Omega remained silent until he spoke again. **"YOU DO REALIZE IT COULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF EGGMAN'S SHADOW ANDROIDS, DO YOU NOT?"**

Amy shook her head. "The Shadow Androids would look much more mechanical at their joints. This one was definitely not an android..."

 **"...WELP, TIS A SHAME. GUESS THIS MEANS MORE BULLETS FOR HIM THEN."** Omega said.

"SPEAKING of Eggman..." Tails said, soon twirling a flash drive in his hands. "Turns out that metal door Salamon found led straight into an old Eggman lab. And we've got some rather... let's just say 'precious' information he doesn't want getting into our hands."

Coral nodded as well. "Turns out that his little assisted helper isn't the only one causing the distortions across both these planets; he's been making more and more prototypes of these things in order to basically confirm his victory across the worlds."

Milla nodded, handing the small gemstone they found to Amy. "It's what's known as the Phantom Ruby, according to what the data said, and it's playing into the bigger part of his plans... including his assistant Infinite."

"He's got the original." Tails spoke. "It's inseparable from him since its physically embedded into his body, but Eggman's making these copies of them in order to expand his power over manipulating dimensions and basically 'secure' his win."

"That's not all though..." Salamon said, taking the flash drive from Tails. "He's also got something called 'Project ICARUS' he's got as a backup contingency, in case we're still struggling." He added, plugging the flash drive into the computer console and started uploading the data to the Resistance files. "It's said its going to be launched as a last-ditch effort if either we're still fighting back at the end of the week or we start storming his actual base."

"What about the project itself?" Amy asked.

 **"THAT WAS PROTECTED BY A LEVEL FOUR CLEARANCE PASSWORD, ONE WE DID NOT HAVE."** Omega said. **"AND DESPITE OUR BEST THOUGHTS, HIS PASSWORD WAS NOT 'PINGAS' AS I REMEMBERED IT TO BE IN THE PAST BEFORE MY DEACTIVATION."**

"So we've got nothing on the actual project itself, but on just what it's being used for..." Amy spoke, everyone else being distracted as Knuckles would soon seem to recieve a message on his phone. Pulling it out, he'd keep quiet as he read it to himself before he'd quietly sneak out of the base with the Master Emerald... and yet no one would seem to notice...

"We can only assume it's something involving a hail-mary strategy involving the Phantom Ruby..." Tails said. "But we've also got other good news!"

"And that is?" Amy asked.

Carol would flash a toothy grin, holding up the blue and lavender Chaos Emeralds. "We've done a little jewel hunting during our time away from the rest of the group!"

"The Chaos Emeralds?!" Tangle said. "Sweet! That means we might have a chance against Eggs-for-brains!"

"Not without a proper user." Whisper spoke for the first time since the return of the group. "In case you all haven't noticed, Sonic and Sash are gone. And those two were the only ones able to utilize the powers of the Chaos Emeralds properly."

"We have that silver hedg-" Finn started to speak before Whisper interrupted.

"He didn't kill a god before." The wolf said. "Like it or not, Sonic and Sash were our only shots at using the Emeralds against the Ruby. With them gone, they might as well be worthless with how they hate interacting with the Ruby."

"Well... about that..." Coral said, rubbing the back of her head. "We might just have a backup."

Tails nodded, stepping aside... as Classic and Cyclone would walk out, catching everyone in a state of shock.

"S-SONIC?! SASH?!" Amy said.

"When'd they get turned into a pair of munchkins?!" Tangle explained.

Tails held up his hands. "Now, I know this might come as a shock to you guys..." He said. "But these are actually Sonic and Sash from another timeline. They ended up getting roped into this mess with Infinite's use of the Phantom Ruby."

"So younger versions of the two heroes..." Whisper spoke. "Your resourcefulness is admirable."

"We still gotta find a way to decorrupt these things though." Carol said, holding the Chaos Emeralds up. "Otherwise we can't even have the two use things."

"Well..." Tangle said. "Hey! Why don't we use the Master Emerald? Can't that thing, like, flush out the bad energy or something?"

"Well, it's certainly worthy of a try." Whisper spoke. "Echidna, give us-" She'd turn, only to find Knuckles and the Master Emerald gone. "...he left."

"What?!" Nearly everyone turned and looked to where Knuckles and the giant green gemstone originally were.

"Where'd he go?!" Tangle said. "He was just in here a minute ago!" That question wouldn't be answered as a loud siren would start blaring like mad, the entire base shaking from what felt like an earth-shattering quake.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Tails said.

Amy would rush over and check the computer panel. "Th-there's been a massive spike of the Phantom Ruby's distortional energy!" She said. "R-r-right over Station Square!"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

 **With a final reunion with the group, the Resistance is almost finally back together again. But with Knuckles' leaving and a new portal ripping itself open upon Station Square, the war has only just reared its ugly head once again. Where has Knuckles gone? Find out next time in Chapter 16: "Ode to Nocturne"...**


	17. Chapter 16: Ode to Nocturne

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Worlds  
Act 3_**

 _Chapter 16: Ode to Nocturne_

* * *

War sirens were droning over the ruined cityscape as large magenta lasers were firing off into the smoky dusk sky, ripping apart the very fabric of space as the large Isle of Nocturnous was dipping out of the sky into the city below. Several large chains would extend out of the island from above and strike into the ground below, not even caring for where there were buildings as the chains would just smash through everything. Any sort of Resistance members outside would flee in panic as Nocturnous Clan members would start to descend from the chains, soon another firefight breaking out between the two sides of the war. Fires spread, explosions rocked the city, and chaos broke out like nothing else even mattered.

High above on the island, a single white echidna covered in armor and holding a staff would look down on the city, his glowing white eyes witnessing the entire destruction of the surrounding areas. Accompanying him was none other than the pair of the orange and cerulean Gizoids and familiar Procurator as they looked down.

"Now then..." The echidna spoke as he looked to the two Gizoids. "Charyb. Scylla. Dust up these little pests and keep them from entering the citadel. Under no circumstances is anyone except for myself, the Procurator, or our special guest are to enter into it, do I make myself clear?"

"Understood, mi'lord." Charyb said, bowing slightly.

"G-G-GOT IT BOSS MAN-N, GYAAHAHAHAHA!" Scylla cackled, his head twitching a bit.

"And make sure that if you are to break them," Ix spoke again, handing each a Chaos Emerald; Charyb the cyan one and Scylla the yellow one. "That they are to not get up at all anymore."

The two Gizoids nodded in response before leaping down into the outbreaking war below...

"As for you, Procurator." Ix said, turning to Shade. "Retrieval of the Emerald and our special guest at the rendezvous point, understood?"

"Yes, Lord Ix." Shade spoke through her mask before she took off for the lone point away from the citadel. Ix would turn back to the unfolding chaos, seeing the Ruby's own power causing it in the first place.

"The time for my tribe to return has come at last..." Ix growled to himself, staring out into the hellish war. "And this time... they will all know the true meaning of power..."

* * *

The explosions rocked the base as nearly everyone inside tried to regain their balance from the quakes. Amy would be the fist to speak.

"We don't have much time, we need a team mobilization now!" The pink hedgehog said, pulling up Station Square on the massive computer monitor. "We've got chaos going on all fronts of Station Square with that portal open! Marauders are swarming our troops, and... !" Amy gasped. "Th-they've got two of the Chaos Emeralds on them!"

Tails froze up. "W-we can't risk them having the Emeralds on them!" He said. "Let Carol and I go after those!"

"Hold on!" Amy said, checking back on the radar. "I'm picking up another signal..." She nearly choked upon seeing what the signal was. "W-we've got a reading on Shadow!"

"What?!" Rouge said. "Where is he?!"

"A-according to the map..." Amy spoke, homing in. "Five meters due to the east side of Spring Yard Zone!"

"Alright." Rouge said. "I'll go an-"

 **"I AM COMING WITH YOU."** Omega droned as he grabbed Rouge and started marching out of the base. **"THAT BLACK HEDGEHOG IS MY TEAMMATE, LIKE IT OR NOT, I WILL CONVINCE HIM WITH THE POWER OF MY MILKSHAKES."**

"Are you sure that will work?" Rouge asked as she was dragged against her will out of the base.

 **"AS THE BAD MUSIC SAYS, MY MILKSHAKES BRING ALL THE HEDGEHOGS TO THE YARD!"** Omega droned, moving out towards the position of where Shadow was.

Amy sweatdropped, looking to Tails and Carol. "You guys are gonna get the Emeralds?"

Carol nodded. "We'll take care of that; you guys keep relaying to us about what's going on!" She said as the two had dashed out the door off in pursuit of the Chaos Emeralds.

"We're going too!" Salamon said as he and Milla rushed out of the base.

Amy would sigh. "Alright then, let's-" She paused when she realized something. "Wait... where's the small Sonic and small Sash?"

Indeed: it appeared the two small ones snuck out when the others weren't looking...

Outside, soon rushing towards the center area where the rift was, both Classic and Cyclone would see the massive scope of the island descending out of the portal above, the massive stream of lava pouring out onto the streets below as it melted away at it, the severe amount of troops and robots descending from it as swarmed other Resistance members or G.U.N. robots...

"Classic." Cyclone said. "We need to board that island if we're gonna find a way to stop all this." Classic nodded in response as the two took off deeper into the heart of the city... before being ambushed by a few Gizoids and Decurions.

"Shit." Cyclone cursed to herself, her tendrils twitching. "You ready?"

Classic nodded in response.

"Then it's time to shred." She answered, soon Dragon Boosting into a Gizoid as Classic spindashed straight into one of the Decurions. Several of the Gizoids would be then moving in to dogpile straight onto Cyclone, but soon a few quick tendrils slashes from a Dragon Cyclone had them shredded to bits. Classic would be rebounding between the two sets of Decurions, occasionally blowing raspberries as he taunted them into attacking eachother before spinning the remaining few away in a mini-spindash torando. With the Gizoids out of the way, Cyclone would grab Classic as she took off straight for the island citadel, dodging out of the way of other Marauder fire.

"They just don't know when to give up, do they?" The dragon said, smirking, seeing the massive group of them ahead. "You wanna try that one formation attack Classic?"

Classic grinned widely as he soon curled into his spindash before Cyclone slammed her foot right into him, sending the spinning spikeball of a hedgehog slamming into the group of Gizoids and Decurions, blasting them away.

"Perfect strike!" Cyclone smugly commented to herself as the two kept speed before they had closed in on the massive magmafall, which was already eating its way through the ground and into the sewer system.

"Now... how the hell do we climb this thing?" The dragoness asked, looking up the gigantic magmafall. "Even considering the heat coming off this thing, I don't think there'd be any feasible way to go up the falls itself..."

Classic would glance around at the surroundings, trying to find something to use... before he'd notice a familiar CRT monitor shape with a familiar flaming icon on it...

A lightbulb would go off on his head as he got an idea, smirking to himself before he curled into a Spindash and slammed into the monitor, busting it open as the Flame Shield wrapped itself around him. Going to test to see if his idea would work, he'd soon run and jump straight at the magmafall... only for it to act as a solid wall and knock him back next to Cyclone.

"Uhh... what are you doing?" Cyclone asked.

Classic motioned to her as if in sign language.

"You want me to hop onto your back?" She asked, earning a nod from the hedgehog. "...you sure about this?" She questioned. "I mean, this could very well fall flat on it's face and fail you know." Classic would start tapping his foot, as if to insinuate that this wasn't the time for arguing. Clearly enough it worked as Cyclone sighed. "Fine, you win." She said, hopping onto the hedgehog's back. Classic, smirking, revved himself up the hardest Peel-Out possible before he took off straight for the magmafall, prompting Cyclone to close her eyes tightly... only to suddenly feel her weight shift dramatically as she felt as if she was being harshly pulled upwards. Her eyes snapped open to soon see Classic was rushing _up the magmafall_ itself! The kickup from his feet rushing against the molten rock caused it to spew to the sides and splatter on the ground below, catching some unwanted attention as the Decurions started opening fire on the ascending hedgehog and dragon girl. Cyclone grit her teeth and held to Classic tightly as he swerved out of the way of each shot. He couldn't risk a hit at this point; one wrong shot and they'd both burn into dust!

Things were starting to grow worse now as soon large water blasts were starting to hit the magmafall above them, causing chinks to harden and solidify into rock, then starting to hurdle straight towards them at high speed. Classic soon broke out into a frenzied sprint as he desperately tried to avoid the oncoming rocks hurtling straight for the pair... but soon his luck ran out as one small trip-up sent them careening off the magmafall. The hedgehog, acting quickly and remembering the Little Planet incident, soon hit the launches and started leaping from falling rock to falling rock, still taking care to dodge oncoming enemy fire. Launching off one last rock, Classic skidded along the magmafall's surface as he continued the upwards run, soon cresting the magmafall as he skidded around one of the smaller magmafalls in the pool of the molten rock. Decurions and now larger bodied Gizoid Guardians were on high alert as they started scampering about the area, apparently aware now of the two's little stunt they just pulled...

"Looks like we're gonna have to wait until the coast is clear..." Cyclone whispered to the hedgehog. "So... don't drop me. Please."

* * *

The echidna would be impatiently tapping his foot as he stood upon the far outskirts of the city, far away from the Resistance base. He knew he couldn't afford to waste any time at this point; if any of his team members saw him, they'd almost certainly think he would be betraying the cause of the Resistance...

He'd just have to hope they would understand and that Ix would hold his end of the bargain.

By this point a smaller dropship would descend down next to Knuckles, docking into a hover mode as the door opened, Shade looking out. "You have the stone?" She asked.

Knuckles nodded, hoisting the Master Emerald into the ship as he boarded on. "As long as you keep your promise."

"I will." Shade spoke as the two echidnas sat down, the ship lifting up and heading back for the Nocturnous spire. The two were rather silent to eachother, neither one saying a word... until Shade broke the silence.

"I can sense you're still not 100% sure with this decision..." Shade spoke.

"I'm essentially going behind the Resistance's backs to do this..." Knuckles spoke. "That and without the Master Emerald if I have to hand it over to your tribe, we'll have no way of purifying the Chaos Emeralds-"

"Wait." Shade stopped him. "Your group has Chaos Emeralds?"

"Only two." Knuckles spoke, sighing. "But they're corrupted. There's no way we can purify them without the Master Emerald. They'll just be nothing but two useless stones at that point..."

"..." Shade felt silent, a small pang of guilt in her throat from what Knuckles said. The Resistance had no idea they had two Chaos Emerald powered Gizoids running amok in Station Square at this point...

"...maybe once Ix has us return fully, we could use the Emerald to purify the Chaos Emeralds?" Shade spoke.

Knuckles would nod. "I'd really appreciate it if you let me have it back once our business is done."

Shade nodded back. "I will see to it once our business is done." She spoke, soon feeling the ship docking down on the landing bay of the citadel island. "...we're here."

Knuckles nodded, grabbing the Master Emerald as the two left the docked ship. As the two walked along the stone pathways coursing with metallic structures, Knuckles would feel uneasy as Shade led him to the citadel room. As the large metallic doors opened up, the two stepped inside as Ix stood in the center of the room, looking at the two.

"Ah, so you must be our special guest..." Ix spoke. "I must say, I am amused that it's another echidna... and one from the tribe of Pachacamac no less..."

"Pleased to meet you too I guess..." Knuckles said, setting down the Master Emerald in the center of the citadel's antechamber. "So... how exactly do you guys need the Master Emerald to 'return fully' as Shade explained to me?"

"Well, the effects of the Ruby are only... temporary, let's put it." Ix spoke as a large device with a three-pointed claw came down and hooked onto the Master Emerald. "It's energy is only enough to bring us into this world, not enough to keep us in here. Once the effect wears off, the Twilight Cage pulls the island back in. Chaos Energy, however..." He spoke, chuckling to himself as the Master Emerald was raised up and locked into place. "The limitless powers of the Master Emerald will allow us to remain here fully."

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain..." Knuckles said.

"Relax." Ix spoke. "Rest assured you'll be keeping your promise. Now, how about the Procurator shows you around the place here?"

"Very well, Lord Ix." Shade spoke, turning to Knuckles. "If you would come with me?"

Knuckles nodded, the two leaving the antechamber with Ix and the Master Emerald.

Ix chuckled darkly to himself. "Oh Knuckles... you are so, so naive..."

* * *

Sirens were still blaring loudly as Scylla was maniacally laughing to himself as he tore through any more of the Resistance soldiers, carving them up like they were nothing more than Thanksgiving turkey. IT was almost impossible to tell of his orange coloring underneath the blood he spilt.

"GYAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! C-COME ON N-NOW! IS TH-THIS ALL THIS P-P-PESKY RESISTAN-NCE HAS GOTTEN?!" Scylla cackled. "OH THE BEAU-UTIFUL BLOODSHED! OH THE SCREAMS OF THE FALLEN! I-ITS MUSIC T-TO MY E-EARS! GYAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Though it wasn't long before Scylla experienced some new faces...

A slam to the back of his metal cranium was more than enough to catch his attention as he'd whip around to see none other than the two canines were already there, Milla's hand smoking from the Phantom Sphere she just fired. She growled as she stared down the Gizoid, Salamon taking up a battle position as well...

"W-WELL WELL WELLY-Y WELL WELL!" Scylla cackled. "I D-DIN'T KNOW I'D BE CALING-G IN FOR SO-OME SPAYING TODAY! N-NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING, GYAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Milla grit her teeth, glaring down the Gizoid. "Hands off that Chaos Emerald!" She yelled, her fists cloaked in green energy.

Salamon growled as well. "You'll be sorry you crossed paths with us!" He barked.

Scylla merely laughed crazy again. "WH-WHAT KINDA COMEDY IS THA-AT, AMATUER HOU-UR?!" He cackled, his head twitching slightly. "GAAAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU TWO ARE PATHETIC!"

Milla clenched her fists tightly. "We'll see how well you're saying that once we're through with you!" Milla roared, rushing straight for the Gizoid. Scylla would dodge out of the way before attempting to slash at the basset with his own blade. He was soon interrupted as Salamon had slashed right at his backside, his fists cloaked in blue energy claws. Scylla cackled as he delivered a smashing kick straight to the husky's gut, causing him to lose his guard as the Gizoid turned and decked him across the face. Salamon went flying into a wall as Milla pulled a Shield Burst straight in the Gizoid's backside. Scylla was sent sprawling before he rerightened, cackling again.

"TH-THIS IS NO-OTHING, NYEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEEH!" Scylla cackled. "WH-WHAT ARE YA, A-A-A-A BUNCH OF P-PANSIES?!"

Milla growled, slamming her foot into the ground as a chunk of earth was kicked up into the air, her foot slamming into it as it was sent straight towards Scylla at a hurtling speed. The Gizoid merely back-handed the rock before dashing straight for the basset, slashing straight at her. Milla guarded a little too late and felt the sharp plasma cut her forearms, her blood splattering a bit. Gritting her teeth in pain she'd grab the Gizoid's wrist and twist it into an armlock, disarming the blade from him.

"GYAH! NI-ICE TRY YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Scylla cackled. "CHAOS C-CONTROL!" And almost in an instant he had disappeared from Milla's armlock, soon reclaiming his blade and slicing Milla clean across the back, causing the basset to flip forward and faceplant on the ground. Scylla rushed forward and intended to kill Milla, but his blade soon collided with Salamon's Phantom Claws as the blade ground against them.

"H-hands off!" Salamon growled, struggling against the blade before he threw the Gizoid off of him. "No one's allowed to hurt Milla!"

"A-AND WHO ARE YOU T-TO JUDGE WHO DO-OES WHAT, GYAAAH?!" Scylla scoffed, his head twitching. "Y-YOU DON'T HAVE POWER OVER ME!"

"I beg to differ!" Salamon said, his claws slamming straight into the Gizoid's blade. The Gizoid would be parrying the blade clashes before punching Salamon straight in the face, launching him backwards. Salamon barked angrily before rushing forward again, brandishing his Phantom Claws as he and Scylla soon were in heated combat, trading blows with eachother before Salamon delivered a smashing double-punch straight to the Gizoid's central chasis, sending him careening into a wall. With him down for the time being, Salamon would rush to the basset's side.

"Y-you alright Milla?" Salamon said as he helped the basset to her feet.

"I-I think so..." The basset moaned, getting to her feet thanks to the husky. "I'm alive at least..."

Salamon would look over. "I think we got him..."

"I dunno..." Milla spoke. "Something tells me a Chaos Emerald powered robot isn't going to go down that easily..."

Milla's point would be soon proven as Scylla burst from the building he was knocked into.

"Told ya." Milla spoke as her fists formed her murder spheres. "Don't let your guard down just yet!"

Salamon growled as the two soon lept back into action...

* * *

Soon enough Tails and Carol were closing in on their target as they rounded the corner of the building, soon ducking behind some debris as Tails got a read on their target.

"From the Chaos Energy readings, looks like we've got a fix on the cyan Emerald." Tails spoke. "And chances are, there's gonna be something protecting it. You ready?"

"I'll be about as ready as I can be." Carol said, setting her Mech-Blade to its scythe form. "We can't risk letting them keep that Chaos Emerald."

"On three?" Tails said, readying his blaster.

"I was thinking more of 'one', but three's fine by me." Carol said, scythe at the ready. "So let's do this."

"One... two..." Tails spoke, tensing up. "THREE!" He shouted, as both of them rushed around the corner, brandishing their weapons. "Freeze! Hand over the Chaos Emerald!"

"...hmph, rather uncouth of you, don't you say?" The cerulean Gizoid said, turning around. ""As if you're to just come in here and act so disgraceful to a high ranking officer of the Nocturnous clan."

Both Tails and Carol would be confused. "...what?" Tails asked.

"Ah, I suppose that introductions are in order then." The Gizoid said, rightening himself. "I am Charyb, main commanding officer of the Nocturnous Clan and head of the Decurion division of Nocturnous soldiers. Now, pray tell, who am I speaking to?"

Tails stood still. "Miles Prower."

"Carol Tea."

"Ah, so the illustrious Miles Prower and Carol Tea of the now defunct AvaMerc of Mobius and Avalice. I must say, the one you call Robotnik has said much about your... exploits in the past." Charyb spoke. "Pray tell, why would your concerns draw to me? I've not so much as even laid a single finger on any of the civilians in the area; just merely driving them out."

Tails would seriously be confused. "Wait... so you're not even hurting anyone?"

"Ach, no. Far too messy to deal with as someone of my stature." Charyb merely responded. "I find it beneath myself to send unnecessary bloodshed when it's not needed. Just drive them away and let bygones be bygones."

"...am I speaking to a war machine or some sort of Old Republic knight?" Carol spoke.

"Hmph, I can understand your tongue." Charyb merely spat. "I assure you that my manner of speaking is not representative of my combat abilities. And yet you've not even made your point as to why you've arrived here in search of me."

"The Chaos Emerald!" Tails said, the two readying their weapons. "Hand it over!"

"Ah, so you mean this?" Charyb said, pulling the Chaos Emerald out. "Hmph, as if I would hand it over so pettily easy. For what reason should I have to hand you over the Emerald to your lot?"

"We can't have those Emeralds in Eggman's hands!" Tails said. "Every Emerald he has in his possession means more and more our worlds will slip! Until there's nothing more than a void of suffering and sorrow!"

"Hmph. Then it seems your world is on the line as well." Charyb spoke. "Very well. If you want this Chaos Emerald so badly, then you must defeat me in a duel!"

"...a duel?" Carol asked.

"Yes. I feel as if that would be the most appropriate way to settle this issue. We have a duel, and to the victor go the spoils; or in this case, the Chaos Emerald." Charyb spoke.

"...a duel-" Carol was about to say again before Charyb interrupted.

"Yes, a bloody duel!" The Gizoid said, crossing his arms. "Now then, do you accept?"

"..." Carol thought. "Tails?"

"...if it's for the safety of our world, then we'll do it." Tails spoke, changing his blaster modifications to the plasma sword.

"Very well then." Charyb said, brandishing his blade. "Then for the honor of the clan, you shall fall!"

"I say otherwise!" Tails said, rushing forward as the two blades collided in a shower of sparks. The two would push against eachother before Charyb lept back, gripping tight to his blade.

"Chaos Wave!" Charyb said, slashing at the ground as a Chaos energy charged wave welled up from the ground and forced itself towards Tails. The kitsune grit his teeth as he soon switched to lightning chaser as he fired, dispersing the wave entirely. Tails would then dash forward at the Gizoid before slamming his tails into him in a whip-like fashion, knocking the robot sideways before it rerightened itself. Charyb would unleash another watery blast at Tails as it knocked him back, before Charyb went for the roundhouse kick straight for the back of the kitsune's skull. The foot would connect as Tails was rocketed forward face-first, faceplanting hard onto the ground.

"As I expected. Your morale is strong, but your combat skills are unrestrained and sloppy." Charyb spoke. "No wonder you couldn't last long."

"Nnnnngghhh..." Tails groaned, getting to his knees. "You're not gonna get away with this..."

"Hmph. Words are meaningless unless you're willing to put them through." Charyb spoke, before dodging out of the way of Carol's attack. "Ah, attempting to get me monologuing just to put in an attack. How cheeky of you!"

Carol didn't utter a word as she soon started her onslaught with her scythe, whirling it around herself with speed and grace as she duked it out with Charyb. The Gizoid would soon be clashing blades against the scythe as the movements were kept up beat for beat, clash for clash before the two opposing parties were thrown back from eachother.

"I must say, I'm impressed by your skills." Charyb spoke. "Not many can keep up blow for blow with my fighting style..."

Carol didn't speak a word, just her tail slowly twitching as she eyed down the Gizoid.

"Not much for words once you're in the heat of combat are you?" Charyb quipped. "Very well then, we shall continue!" Charyb would soon sprint forward, slashing across the ground as more Chaos Waves would burst up from the ground, the wildcat slicing through them with the Mech-Blade before making a move on Charyb, slicing her blade straight through his forearm. Charyb would back off before Carol slashed a horizontal one, which would have sliced the Gizoid clean in two had he not dodged. Charyb would soon go on the offensive again as he rushed forward intending to catch Carol off guard. The wildcat grit her teeth as she kept the Mech-Blade at the ready, going another round of weapon-to-weapon combat with the Gizoid. Blow after blow was continuously traded...

...until Tails finally interrupted and slammed his blade straight into the backside of the Gizoid when he wasn't looking, completely catching it off guard as it soon lost power. With a sharp slash upwards, the Gizoid would be bisected as the cyan gemstone flew into the air... and was caught in the kitsune's hand, panting heavily.

"Well, that works." Carol said, panting a bit. "Nice sneak maneuver there, even I didn't see ya coming!"

"Heh, thanks..." Tails said, holding the Chaos Emerald. "So, we've got three now."

Tails nodded. "Only four more to find... but who knows where three of them are."

"Let's just get this back to base; I'm sure Amy will be thrilled to hear the news." Carol commented.

Tails nodded his head in response before the two took back off for the base...

* * *

"...are there any more readings of him Omega?" Rouge asked from her perch on the robot's shoulder.

 **"NEGATIVE."** Omega droned, keeping watch of the current area. **"HIS BIOTIC LIFE SIGNS HAVE DISAPPEARED ENTIRELY. HE MAY HAVE USED CHAOS CONTROL RECENTLY."**

"Damnit..." Rouge cursed to herself. "And to think we could have found him to try and talk some sense into him..."

 **"HOLD ON."** Omega droned. **"I HAVE A READING ON CHAOS ENERGY...YEP, ITS HIM."**

"Where is he relative to us?" Rouge asked.

 **"TWO KILOMETERS DUE NORTHWEST."** Omega spoke, before the bat took off to the skies. **"AND OF COURSE YOU WOULD RUN OFF AHEAD."** He droned before heading off in the same direction as well. Though it wasn't long before the new Egg Pawns would catch sight of them and open fire on them. Omega, of course, wasting no time, immediately begins to eviscerate the lot as scrap metal starts flying like a spare parts factory, making quick work of every Pawn in front of him.

"We'll move faster if you aren't going out of your way to kill everything Omega!" Rouge commented, flying ahead.

 **"IMPOSSIBLE."** Omega said, keeping his rate of fire up. **"ALL OF EGGMAN'S ROBOTS MUST BE ELIMINATED. NO EXCEPTIONS, NO SURRENDER."**

Rouge signed in frustration. "You're impossible to work with..." She said, taking off ahead as the robot could continue to lay waste to the horde. She'd continue to make her way in the direction of where the signal was coming from until she'd soon see the familiar black hedgehog, decked out in the normal formal black suit he'd wear, in the middle of a plaza clearing.

"Shadow!" Rouge said, dropping down to the plaza. "Are you oka-"

She was soon interrupted as the black hedgehog threw a Chaos Spear at her, which she quickly deflected with an axe kick. "What the hell has gotten into yo-" She started to say before she felt a sharp slam straight to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her as she was sent flying into a building, the wall cracking from the sheer force she was throw at into it. Blood would spit from her mouth from the impact before she fell and hit the ground hard. "Wh-what... the hell..."

"Hmph, pathetic." Shadow growled, picking up the broken bat. "And what even made you think you had so much as a chance to stand up to me?"

"L-let... me... go Shadow!" Rouge growled, squirming.

"And why would I do that with such a weak little creature as yourself?" The hedgehog spat back, throwing Rouge sideways into another wall as she hit the ground hard. "Don't ever show your pathetic little face in front of me again if you value your safety." He said, walking away.

Rouge felt a spark of anger starting to rise inside her chest as she got back to her feet, soon rushing forwards and attempting to slam a kick straight into the side of the black hedgehog's head. Shadow would be flung to the side as Rouge would be panting hard, angrily glaring down the hedgehog.

"Hmph, you want to play that game?" The black hedgehog said, his fists starting to glow. "Fine then. There won't be a next time for you!" Shadow would rush forward as Rouge tried to defend herself, but suddenly the black hedgehog would Chaos Control away out of view and throwing the bat off her guard. Her vision would start to dart from area to area before she felt a sharp pain to her gut as she was soon thrown into the air, a tear coming from her eye as she soon was pummeled in the air several times before a smashing blow would be slammed into her back, smashing her into the ground hard. The bat would struggle to get up before she felt a foot press hard into her back, Shadow pointing an open palm straight at the back of her head, a yellow glow forming in his palm.

"Now, _DIE._ " The black hedgehog growled. The bat shut her eyes tightly and prepared for the worst...

...only to hear a deafening gunshot as the weight would seem to disappear from her. The bat's eyes would snap open to soon see that Shadow had been flung to the side, a bleeding hole in his head as he laid motionless on the ground. Soon enough, Rouge would be helped to her feet as she soon recognized the floral Hawaiian shirt...

"You alright?" The figure asked.

Rouge sighed in relief. "Appreciate you finally came... Shadow."

"Hmph. As if it wasn't hard enough trying to find you guys." The hedgehog spoke. "Doesn't help with all the faker copies of me running around. They don't even have half the personality I do."

"Well..." Rouge said. "Where were you for the past six months?"

"Trying to find you guys." Shadow answered. "Where's Omega?"

An explosion would go off nearby along with a shout of **"BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS."**

"Take a guess." Rouge said.

"Really hasn't changed, has he?" Shadow asked.

"Not really..."

* * *

With what seemed like an eternity of hiding behind the magmafall, Cyclone would have fallen asleep on Classic's back, not giving the poor hedgehog and slack as he had to continue holding her in a way so she wouldn't wake up...

His ear twitched as he heard footsteps passing nearby the magmafall. Nudging Cyclone awake, the two would peer out from behind the falls to see the pair of Knuckles and Shade walking by...

"Hey..." Cyclone whispered. "Wasn't that the echidna that was back at the Resistance base?"

Classic nodded, making hand motions as to that he was confused as to why he would be here.

"Well, whatever reason... I think that gives us proper excuses to start snooping around." Cyclone spoke, her eyes darting between the two sides of the land around the magmafalls. "Which way should we take though? This place could be huge..."

Classic would point to the left, seemingly away from the route where Knuckles and Shade were going, but at the indication of a speed ramp.

"Ah, perfect." Cyclone said. "Fits in for our abilities too." With that, Classic and Cyclone would take off to the one side of the land as the hedgehog would then spin down the ramp before launching upwards and around before skidding to a halt in a smaller plaza, stairs to the mere right of where they dismounted. Sneaking up the stairs, the two would soon come a large entryway... only for it to lead to a dead end.

"Shit..." Cyclone cursed. "I get the feeling we went the wrong way."

Classic indicated to one of the entryways they ignored for their speed path, back on the one raised section of land.

"Hmmm... it's the only other way we've got." Cyclone said. Speeding back over there, the two would find that the small entryway led to a descending staircase going deeper into the citadel. The two would begin their descent...

Then Classic's foot hit water.

He zipped back up the staircase as if he was afraid for his life.

"...seriously?" Cyclone spoke, grabbing the hedgehog's hand. "Come on, it can't all be submerged, right?"

Oh how wrong she would be...

With the under chambers completely flooded, Classic would be squirming hard as he tried to struggle to get away from the place. Cyclone basically had to drag him all the way through the underwater chambers as she held her breath...

Soon enough the two would surface as Classic and Cyclone would be panting for air, soaked to the skin. Looking over, he'd see the massive pyramid with large mechanical gears, spires and crystaline structures. Gritting her teeth, she'd soon crawl up the side of the pyramid until she could start peering through the skylight. She could faintly make out some sort of device, along with a massive stone embedded into it.

"Classic, I think they've got the Emerald!" Cyclone said. "They must've tricked Knuckles into getting it!"

Classic would punch his fists together, soon rushing for the door.

"Classic NO!" The dragoness yelled, gripping the hedgehog's tail tightly as he skidded his feet along the ground. "We can't just run in there all reckless like that!"

But her grip on the hedgehog's tail would start to slip...

* * *

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Shade would be working their way downwards until they had come to the large building in the side of the citadel. "This where you wanted to take me?" He asked.

Shade nodded. "Welcome to the Noctunous Archives." She spoke, leading him inside. "And in here, we might have a plan of neutralizing that ruby..."

The insides of the Archives would be large, illuminated by crystal spires as the two echidnas would walk between the larger databank cases, other Nocturnous clan members would be walking about the area... though a few would be shooting the two odd looks or even a bit of leering.

"Lotta stares we're attracting..." Knuckles spoke, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"It might just be your gloves." Shade spoke. "Not a lot of people would expect a member of the Knuckles clan to be here... let alone alive for that matter after the Perfect Chaos incident..."

"Wait, you knew about that?" Knuckles asked, earning a nod in response from the other echidna.

"Part of my job as Procurator is historical preservation of both the clan and any other neighboring or warring tribes." Shade spoke. "We've actually had a lot of documentation of both our and your tribe, since both our sides had the most interaction. Especially since your tribe wasn't exactly the... best with historical preservation."

"Guilty." Knuckles said. "What was supposed to be the historical records in Hidden Palace hasn't had any sort of recording in it at all expect for the mural hall leading to the altar."

"Ah, of the legendary golden hedgehog, yes?" Shade asked.

"Well, yeah..." Knuckles said. "Needless to say I... kinda witnessed that incident happened."

"Huh." Shade said, smiling a bit. "At least you seemed to have a little action as a Guardian."

"You don't know the half of it." Knuckles spoke, the two soon reaching the one section where Shade needed to go.

"Ah, here we are." Shade spoke. "Let's see... ah, here it is; 'The Master Emerald and Beyond the Chaos Emeralds.' If what I remember from seeing in here..."

"There might be something to stop the Ruby in this?" Knuckles asked.

"There's one specific piece of this lore..." Shade spoke. "One that, surprisingly, your clan seems to have lost to time."

"Really?" Knuckles said.

Shade nodded. "I'm talking about the S-" Though her sentence was interrupted as a loud rocking sound shook the island. "Wh-what the?!"

"What was that?!"

* * *

Said rumbling had come from Classic, who's tail had finally slipped from Cyclone's grasp as he spin slammed into the metal doors into the antechamber, the two large doors slamming into other machines in the chamber and throwing off everything on the island. Even Ix wasn't expecting this as he was thinking Knuckles and Shade were off at the Archives right now! The echidna imperator grit his teeth, soon seeing the small blue hedgehog landing on the main floor in front of him, his spines tingling as if he was ready to fight.

Ix could help but let out a laugh. "Really now! _This_ the esteemed Sonic the Hedgehog I've heard so much about? Nothing more than a mere child, and dust for my boot to wipe away!" Classic would soon charge a Spindash as he rocketed straight at the echidna, but was merely batted away with a flick of his staff. Classic would rebound off the wall, soon ricocheting off the walls as if the arena was made for pinball. Ix would growl as he soon let loose a blast from his staff, knocking the hedgehog sideways as Cyclone would rush into the room.

"Hold it!" She yelled.

"Hmph, as if a maggot such as yourself would make a difference!" Ix growled, soon meeting the dragoness as she slashed her tendrils right into his staff, merely plonking off of them before she threw every sort of attack she had at the echidna, culminating in a Dragon Boost, which definitely started to deal some damage as Ix was pushed back from the attack.

"ENOUGH!" Ix roared, blasting Cyclone away next to Classic, skidding on her feet. "I will not have my plans trifled by a pair of insolent worms, much less children such as yourselves!"

"You started it by tricking Knuckles for the Master Emerald you ass!" Cyclone spat back, pointing at the Master Emerald up in the craw of the machine. "That doesn't even belong to you!"

"As if I care what others think!" Ix growled back. "For too long has this world damned me and the clan from dominating it! I had my victory stolen from me long ago, and I will not allow history to repeat itself! This world will be mine for the taking! All of it belongs only to me!"

"You're insane!" Cyclone growled. "All you'll do is kill yourself because of Infinite!"

"As if that insolent worm thinks he's to a speck of my power!" Ix growled. "And with the power of the Master Emerald, I will-"

"Lord Ix!" Shade's voice yelled as she and Knuckles rushed in. "What... is..."

"Hey, you two!" Knuckles said, looking at Classic and Cyclone. "What are you two doing here?!"

"Don't believe Ix you two!" Cyclone said. "He's wanting to use the Emerald to destroy all of us!"

"What?!" The two would exclaim, Shade looking to Ix. "Imperator! You can't be serious!"

"...nnnghhh, I don't have time for this!" Ix growled, hitting a button on his staff. "Guardians, seize them!"

"Wh-what?!" Shade gasped, before both she and Knuckles were restrained by the large hulking Gizoid figures. "N-nngh! L-Lord Ix! You can't be serious!"

"Curb your tongue you worm!" Ix growled, blasting Shade with his staff and causing her to shriek in pain. "There will be no more out of your mouth if you value your life!"

"I can't let you do this Ix!" Knuckles growled. "Misuse of the Master Emerald's power will only lead to your downfall by the gods!"

"As if I were to tremble in fear of your so-called gods!" Ix said, the Master Emerald in its machine lowering down to the ground. "With its limitless power, I can become a god! Beyond one even! Even your so called threat of Infinite will fear me!" With that, Ix would insert his hand into the machine, soon feeling the Chaos Energy flowing into his body as his eyes flashed green, the energy soon enveloping him as his body transformed into his true echidna form, glaring down the four as Chaos Energy orbited his staff. "Now TASTE ANNIHILATION!"

Shade squirmed before she pulled a blade from her armor, soon using her free arm to whirl it straight at the machine's craw, the Emerald falling to the ground. from the disconnected machine parts.

"WHAT?!" Ix roared.

"SONIC! THE EMERALD!" Shade yelled to Classic. The hedgehog nodded before he made a mad dash straight for the Master Emerald, hand extended out to grab it.

" _ **NO!**_ " Ix roared, making a move for the Emerald.

But he wasn't fast enough as a golden light erupted from the Master Emerald, blinding the energy fueled Imperator and knocking him back. He'd look back to soon see the hedgehog, now golden in color, staring down at Ix.

"Bah, merely a change of hairstyle is not going to make a difference!" Ix growled, readying his staff as he soon fired off a Chaos Blast right for Classic. Classic, now charged into his Super form, would charge up a Spindash before blasting straight through the Blast, slamming straight into Ix and finally starting to deal some damage.

"It's working!" Shade said as Cyclone soon turned the Gizoid Guardians to scrap metal, freeing the two. "Knuckles quick, get the Master Emerald and stop Ix's Chaos Energy feed!"

"I've only got one shot at this!" Knuckles said, making a dash for the Master Emerald and scooping it up in his arms while Super Classic was busy going toe-to-toe with Ix. The echidna would soon leap up higher onto another ledge while Cyclone and Shade would join up with him. Knuckles would begin to harness the powers of the Master Emerald as Classic continued to deck it out with the insane leader echidna. He would backhand the hedgehog's spindash with his own staff before firing off a series of energy orbs straight for the spiny yellow mammal. Classic would spin before launching himself straight into the staff of Ix, severing it clean in two. Growling in rage, Ix would toss the severed staff to the side before firing off other Chaos Energy blasts like mad at the hedgehog, starting to cause colateral damage to the citadel's antechamber.

"...the controller serves to unify the Chaos!" Knuckles said. "Master Emerald, cut your feed to Ix! He is unworthy of possessing the Chaos Energy!" With that, the Master Emerald would start to glow brightly as IX started to become weaker...

"Sonic, now's your chance!" Shade yelled to Classic. The super hedgehog nodded in response before spinning in place, large amounts of light soon building up around him as he soon blasted forward, slamming straight into Ix in the most powerful Light Speed Attack as the echidna was slammed against the wall repeatedly, soon reduced to no more than a bloody pulp in a cape as Classic kept wailing on him... until his super form faded, causing him to pant heavily.

"He... he did it!" Cyclone said. "I didn't know he had so much power..."

Their victory wouldn't be lasting for so long as the place would soon be rumbling, nearly throwing the group off their feet.

"The Master Emerald was the only thing keeping Nocturne fully in this world..." Shade said. "Without it, the Twilight Cage is going to pull it back in, and any of the Nocturnous along with it!"

"So..." Knuckles said. "In layman's terms, time for us to get the hell out of dodge."

"YES!" Shade said, as the four made a break for out of the citadel. The four would start legging it as soon they broke out of the other steel doors, soon seeing the island breaking apart as it started to get sucked back into the portal above. The four would take a massive leap of faith as they would soon start going into freefall as anything else Nocturnous related started to get sucked into the portal...

The quartet would land on the ground as the rest of the Nocturnous would get sucked into the portal itself, soon enough the magenta laser piercing into the sky dying entirely. The portal would seal shut, any traces of the Nocturnous gone entirely... except for Shade, who sighed in relief.

"Well... crisis averted..." Shade spoke, dropping to her knees. "Gods..."

"You okay?" Knuckles asked.

"I-I'm exhausted... heh..." Shade said. "E-either way... let's head back to your base... sound good?"

Classic gave a thumbs up, and Cyclone nodded. Knuckles would pick up Shade onto the Master Emerald as the four headed back to base...

* * *

Carol and Tails would be the first to arrive back at base, the wildcat smirking as she held the Chaos Emerald. "One more emerald for out group!" She said, holding the thing as a trophy. "We're only got four more to find!"

"Excellent!" Amy said, taking the cyan Emerald from the two. "At least we're finally able to get these things back for ourselves..."

"Make it four Emeralds!" Milla spoke as she and an exhausted Salamon would enter into the base as well, holding the yellow gem. "We've only got three more left!"

"We're on a roll!" Salamon said. "Now, anyone find that Echidna? Or the two little guys for that matter?"

"They were with me." Knuckles said, soon entering the base afterwards, Shade on top of the Master Emerald with Classic and Cyclone behind the two.

"Where in the world were you Knuckles?!" Amy exclaimed. "And isn't that a member of those Marauders?"

"Former." Shade spoke. "I'm joining your cause."

"What?" Amy asked.

"My former Imperator has lied to me of our cause." Shade spoke. "I want no more to do with him."

"...alright, but just know not a lot of us are going to trust you." Amy spoke.

"...with the information I have, you may want to think otherwise..." Shade spoke.

"And what would that be?"

"I know how to counteract the Phantom Ruby."

* * *

 **With the panic of Station Square finally come to a close, the Resistance finds themselves up two Chaos Emeralds and a new ally in the form of Shade. But what does she mean by knowing how to counteract the Ruby? And can she truly be trusted? Find out next time in Chapter 17: "Search for the Shrine"...**


	18. Chapter 17: Search for the Shrine

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Worlds  
Act 3  
_**

 _Chapter 17: Search for the Shrine_

* * *

Everyone in the base seemed to be in a state of shock as those words left Shade's mouth. A way to counteract the Phantom Ruby? Meaning a way to finally stop the war for good? It almost seemed too good to be true...

"How exactly do you mean this?" Amy asked.

"I have some crucial information." Shade answered. "Crucial information that can help you win this war and take out that hound before any more damage could possibly be done."

"..." Amy was unsure of what the echidna was saying. "Explain what you mean then."

Shade nodded, soon tapping something on her wrist unit and ejecting a small USB Drive from it, soon walking over and inserting it into the main computer, soon bringing up old manuscripts of the Knuckles clan.

"We use Chaos Energy against them." Shade spoke.

"And... how exactly is that going to work?" Rouge asked. "Bear in mind two of our Chaos Emeralds are already corrupted by that Ruby's energy, so if it can neutralize the Chaos Emeralds, we're kinda. y'know, shit outta luck."

"That's where this one bit of information I have comes in." Shade spoke, pulling up more of the manuscripts. "Lost to your world's history is an aspect regarding the Chaos Emeralds and their connection to the Master Emerald. A 'missing link' if you will; a level between the two completely lost to time..."

"...?" Everyone seemed to be intrigued about what Shade was talking about. Shade would pull up another manuscript image with what appeared to be the Emerald Chamber of Angel Island... only now the pillars had large diamond-cut gemstones on top of them, each one matching each of the Chaos Emerald's colors.

"These..." Shade spoke. "...are the Super Emeralds. Mythical Chaos Relics lost to time from the echidna tribes of the past. And with them... they might just be our ticket to winning this war against the one you call Eggman."

Shadow would be tapping his foot. "Then may I ask exactly how the hell we are supposed to summon them?" He said. "I don't know if you've noticed right now, but we're currently in the middle of a war here."

"I'm getting to that." Shade spat back. "Now, in order to get them to summon proper, we'll need to place the Master Emerald back into an Emerald in a Hidden Palace, and then place all seven of the Chaos Emeralds into the surrounding pillars. After that, Knuckles will need to recite the seven Chaos chant, and summon the Super Emeralds into their pillars. They just might be enough to turn the tides of this war."

"Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but how exactly are we gonna get that hunk of rock back into its shrine?" Whisper asked.

"Tangle holds good point." Whisper added. "With how thick Eggman's forces are, it would be impossible to get Master Emerald back to Angel Island. Even if we did, the resurge in Chaos Energy pushing the island back up into the air would surely give our position away to him..."

"Ah, but I said _a_ Hidden Palace, not _the_ Hidden Palace!" Shade countered. "There's more than one way to skin a cat, or in this case, summon the Super Emeralds. Knuckles's tribe has had a history of sporting multiple Emerald shrines across several other islands or Angel Island itself, though most were destroyed after the Perfect Chaos incident that nearly destroyed the tribe itself..."

"But where's this other one?" Tails said. "You'd think we would have found it by now..."

"Well, Knuckles' tribe may have have been warriors, but their tacticians were cunning." Shade spoke. "They put their other primary shrine on an island where they knew it wouldn't be able to float... the other Hidden Palace is located on what you would call Westside."

"I-I-It's on Westside Island?!" Tails exclaimed in shock. "Wh-where?!"

"That I cannot say for sure, but if the one on Angel Island is to be believed, it may be deep within the island itself." Shade spoke. "However... when we still had the Nocturnous allied with his Empire, he already has several of his troops crawling across the island itself, as well as several of the Zones under his control. That's not even mentioning the surge in volcanic activity that had surfaced there."

"So what you're saying is Westside Island is a complete death trap?" Carol spoke.

"It may be, but it's the only chance we've got." Shade spoke, looking to the rest of the group. "We've got multiple Zone fronts to look at for any sort of way underground that currently aren't fully Eggman-controlled. Anyone have suggestions for which zones we should check?"

Silence.

"...no one has any sort of suggestion at all?" Shade asked.

"...I might have one." Tails spoke, as everyone turned to the kitsune. "Hear me out on this... but back when Eggman had the first Death Egg crisis, Sonic and I had basically ran all the way across the island in order to give chase to him... and I think I might have an idea on where to start searching."

"Where?" Whisper spoke.

"Yeah Tails, fill us in here!" Tangle said.

"...Mystic Cave Zone." Tails said. "It's deep within Hill Top Zone, and I don't know how heavy the volcanic activity might have shifted the island's climate... but it's our only shot we have."

"Very well." Shade spoke, looking to Knuckles. "Do you agree with this?"

"What other choice do we have that doesn't involve us risking our lives with Eggman's robots?" Knuckles spoke. "Westside's Hidden Palace might be the only chance we've got."

"I still think it might be best to spread our searches to the other Zones though." Zeena finally said. "After all, if the increase in volcanic activity is anything to believe, that probably means he's crashed Lava Mountain down onto Westside Island as well."

"Good point..." Tails spoke. "We'll need proper teams; let's give ourselves an hour to rest up and have the Empire get off our backs for now. I'm sure with the stunt Classic and Cyclone just pulled the entire Empire is going to be on high alert, especially since we've now got four of the Emeralds."

Shade nodded. "Amy, do you approve of this?"

The hedgehog nodded. "We'll lay low for a while. If we try going now, Eggman might be having his forces swarming for us."

Shade nodded. "Alright, let's rest."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the main Eggman fortress located on Westside Island, the doctor was angrily pacing back and forth, not exactly too pleased that the plan of ringing in the Nocturne had backfired horribly. His mustache twitched slightly as soon Orbot popped into the room.

"Uhm, sir, I-" Orbot spoke before Robotnik interrupted.

"What do you want?" He growled, not exactly too pleased he was being interrupted.

"Well, we have updates from the others." Orbot spoke. "All the other prisoners are secured down and locked tightly, meaning they will have no chance at escaping. The other three Chaos Emeralds have been securely locked down on the bases on the other points of Mobius and Avalice; we've taken these precautions ever since Charyb and Scylla were destroyed and their Emeralds were lost. Speaking of the Nocturnous-"

"I saw the whole thing." Robotnik growled, slamming his hand down on the table. "I'm disappointed in the Nocturnous's performance to say the least. And with that past Sonic now with them, and having the power to go Super because of the Master Emerald, and Ix now merely a stain on the Empire's name, needless to say, I'm rather livid right now."

"We're still trying to keep everything under control sir." Orbot answered. "Rest assured, the troops are going to be ready for their full-out assault on Empire City within the next 24 hours."

"Good." Robotnik growled. "Do not forget to eliminate any sort of Resistance that might try to stop us."

"Yes, sir." Orbot said before popping out of the doctor grumbled to himself as he paced back and forth in anger, soon twidling his mustache as he checked back to his monitor. He was somehow losing ground to the Resistance, and he needed to catch back up...

"Infinite!" Robotnik barked, the hound soon materializing in the room.\

 _ **"Yes, doctor?"**_ The hound spoke, already knowing what he was going to say.

"When the assault on Empire City happens, you are to head there too." Robotnik spoke. "If anyone interferes, kill them."

 ** _"As you wish."_** The hound responded before warping out of the room, leaving the doctor to himself.

* * *

The female echidna was silent to herself as she came back into the main hub, feeling a bit refreshed and ready for the expedition to Westside. Wanting to start new and fresh after the Nocturnous had lied to her for her lifetime, she abandoned her old bodysuit and boots, only keeping her headband, blades, and bracelets. Her new outfit had her consisted of a tight-fitting dark magenta turtleneck vest, black shorts, new black gloves, white sweatpants leggings bound by sports tape, and makeshift sandals with sports tape as well. She gripped her hands tightly, her eyes looking around at the area...

"You alright Shade?" Knuckles said, walking up next to her.

"Y-yeah..." Shade sighed. "I'm alright..."

"We'll do this." Knuckles said, looking over to Tails and Amy. "Alright, so what teams are going where?"

"Well, we've already decided to have you and Shade go to Hill Top to get down into Mystic Cave." Tails spoke. "We're planning on getting the Jackal Squad out to start combing over the deserts of Mirage Saloon, and I'm planning on having Classic and Cyclone head out to the Chemical Plant next to see if we can find a way to knock down their defenses a few pegs; namely the Death Egg. If we can take that thing out, we'll be in a much better position for an assault on his main base."

"And what of the wolf?" Shade asked.

"She and Tangle are going to be investigating out near Oil Ocean." Amy spoke. "We've picked up from one of our allied field agents that there's troops of Eggman's using it as a hideout for the time being. We're going to make sure that he can't use his resources."

"Ah, deprive of him of vital oil for his machines." Shade spoke. "Rather cunning Rose."

"And I'll be doing a bit of recon myself!" Salamon said, pulling out his RC remote again as a Crabmeat would scuttle out from behind the workbench. "Since everyone else is gonna be recon on Westside, why not join in on the fun myself and spy on them directly under their noses?"

"A risky move, but very rewarding if you can pull it off well." Shade spoke.

"Oh!" Tails said, soon handing Shade a small pack filled with electronics. "One more thing, and I'll be giving these to the Jackal Squad too, but if you guys manage to find Westside's Hidden Palace, set up this teleporter so we can have direct access to it when we need it the most."

Shade nodded, slinging the pack over her back. "Is that why Knuckles is leaving the Master Emerald here?"

"For the most part." Knuckles answered. "If I try hauling that thing along with me, we'd be a massive sitting duck from hauling that much Chaos Energy on my body. Best to keep it off the radar down here until we find that Palace."

"...very well." Shade spoke. "Shall we be off?"

Knuckles nodded. "Tails, get the teleporter fired up."

"Right." Tails said, typing into the main keyboard console. "I have it linked up with my old workshop on Westside. I'm uploading the coordinates to Mystic Cave on your comm tablets right as we speak; good luck you two."

The two echidnas nodded before stepping through the teleporter, leaving the base. Soon the two would arrive in what appeared to be an abandoned workshop, dilapitated from lack of use and from the war.

"Alright..." Shade said, activating the visor part of her helmet from her headband. "According to the information Tails gave, Mystic Cave appears to be fourteen miles due north of here..." She spoke, soon looking out of the workshop in the direction of the coordinates signal, seeing the towering cliftops of Hill Top. "Looks like his money is right on the ball."

"Well then, looks like we've got a bit of a trek ahead of us." Knuckles spoke. "And a dangerous one too; all that ash spewn about in the air means the island's volcanic activity has increased severely."

"We'll need extra precaution then; any wrong move could cause us to be boiled alive." Shade answered. "You wouldn't happen to have any Flame Shields, would you?"

"...shit." Knuckles cursed. "I forgot to ask Tails about them before we left."

"Well, no harm no foul in that case..." Shade spoke. "We'll just have to keep our precaution up."

Knuckles nodded. "Let's go then." He spoke, before the two took off against the volcanic landscape of Charred Emerald Hill. Whatever palm trees that hadn't been burned up in the lava were converted into self-pump stations for magma itself, the piping running through the now charred grey hills with burnt grass. The two would keep their cover low as they crept across the charred landscape, the machines pumping away at the magma...

Shade grit her teeth at how this land was being torn apart by the unnatural volcanic disasters happening, but she couldn't allow herself to get distracted; she needed to keep a level head.

"Hey, Shade!" Knuckles called, a bit ahead of her. "I think I've got a visual on a group of Eggman bots!"

Shade took a deep breath before rushing up to the echidna, laying low with him as he looked over the edge of the small cliff. Several other badniks would appear to be communicating with eachother through beeping, some pointing towards Hill Top...

Without another sound the Badniks would be moving out off towards Hill Top, giving the two echidnas some breathing room.

"Looks like they know something's up." Shade spoke. "I'm betting one of the other Nocturnous spilled about the multiple Hidden Palaces."

"Then let's get up that mountain." Knuckles said. Shade nodded in response before the two took off for the heights of Hill Top.

* * *

As the stone hard fists drove into the rock wall as they climbed, Shade could start to feel a bit of vertigo inside her stomach as she looked back down from where they started climbing. It was a long way back down...

"You holding up okay down there?" Knuckles asked, looking down at the female echidna.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine." Shade said, a bit unsure of herself. "How close are we to the clifftops?"

"Shouldn't be too much further hopefully." Knuckles said, continuing to climb as Shade followed behind him, soon pulling herself up onto a patch of dead grass. Looking around, Shade would soon see the height of Hill Top's sheer magnitude. The dead grass covering the charred grey rock peaks, the dead fir trees lining the area, the large mechanisms for extracting even more magma for the doctor to power his geothermal machines... even the gondolas that would ferry between peaks were converted into some sort of machine for Eggman's benefit. Truly, this was a Bad Future for this Zone.

"Yikes, this is worse than I thought..." Knuckles said. "Well, we can't worry about this right now. How close are we to Mystic Cave's entryway?"

Shade would check her visor again. "Eight-hundred feet to the northeast from this clifftop."

"Alright then." Knuckles said. "I can glide over there, what about you?"

Shade shook her head. "Gliding is not exactly my specialty. I'll have to look for another way around."

"I'll meet you over there then." Knuckles said as he lept off the cliff face, using his dreadlocks to catch the air as he started to slowly glide towards another cliff face. Shade could feel the sweat running down her face as she soon started to lower herself down the wall past the gondola; with how modified it was, she wasn't even going to risk trying to take it out of concern there might be detection sensors in it or the thing outright collapsing into the lava below. She could feel the heat growing as she descended ever so closer downwards...

She was now only five feet above the surface of the lava, and that's all the closer she wanted to get. Swallowing hard, she'd plant her feet hard into the rock wall before she soon let go, firing off her legs like an engine cylinder and latched onto the wall opposite of her. Sighing in relief, she'd start climbing the other wall back up to where the gondola would have taken her, soon pulling herself up onto the dead grass again. She looked ahead, soon taking a quick dive-roll down the slight slope before coming to a ducking stop behind the rock.

Peeking over the edge, she'd see the Zone would still be mostly unattended, not much going on around it... aside from the magma flows and shifting rock islands in them. Clenching her fists, she'd soon roll over the rock and swiftly leap from shifting island to island, soon coming to a grip on the wall on the other side. Keeping her composure she would climb up the next wall before meeting up with Knuckles at the cave entrance.

"Well, good thing you made it." Knuckles said. "How bad's the Zone been terraformed?"

"Not terribly... but it's still rather a pain to navigate." Shade spoke. "This the entrance to Mystic Cave?"

Knuckles nodded, soon getting into the minecart on the tracks at the entrance. "It's an old mine from what Tails had told me. I think if we go deep enough, we might be able to find the Palace."

"Let's hope..." Shade spoke, stepping into the cart. "I'm almost certain this is the only shot we have."

"Hold on then." Knuckles spoke as he released the brakes to the cart, the two echidnas soon plunging into the depths of Westside Island itself, the shaft growing darker... and darker...

Shade noticed something immediately wrong when there was a light glowing brighter at the end of the tunnel. This was supposed to be an abandoned mineshaft... right?

"Knuckles, bail out!" Shade screamed as she pulled the echidna out of the cart with her as the minecart soon crashed through the wooden barrier... and splashed straight into the boiling water lake. The cavern was sweltering, the heat waves coming off the water as the abandoned mineshaft had now become a boiling cavernous lake. Shade swallowed hard; she didn't think the volcanic activity would disrupt the island's ecosystem this badly!

"Oh jeez..." Knuckles spoke. "Since when did we get to Lava Reef?"

"Well, I guess that narrows down the clues as to why the Palace would be here..." Shade spoke. "Where should we start looking?"

"Well, no clue." Knuckles said. "Let's just start looking around..." The two would set off into the mineshaft cavern, now having seen the added hazard of the boiling water, lava pouring in from the ceiling points above and solidifying on the lake itself. Knuckles would be gliding across the larger boiling gaps of the cave system while Shade had to utilize the internal mechanisms of the cavern to lower down the bridges to progress. Oddly enough the cavern was... devoid of most badniks, mostly just finding the scrapped remains of Flashers and Crawltons lining the area.

"This... doesn't seem right." Shade spoke, before hearing what sounded like robotic sounds. "We have someone up ahead, get down!" She said as she and Knuckles ducked behind one of the support beam poles for the cavern, peeking around to see none other than the group of Badniks from earlier. This time Shade was able to get a better view of them; it appeared to be two Egg Flames, an Orbinaut, and three other Egg Fighters. They seemed to be chattering to eachother at some sort of indecipherable chattering, something Shade couldn't understand.

Then, without warning, the Egg Flames would waddle over and activate, immediately blowing their hot flames onto the support beams of the cave. Shade's eyes widened.

They were going to take down the cave entirely.

"Code red!" Shade yelled, grabbing her blades. "Knuckles, take them down!"

"Right!" The red echidna said before leaping out, soon his fist caving in the head of the one Egg Fighter. The other robots would start to panic and start to close in onto the red echidna before the peach echidna had come in and slashed through the other Egg Fighter. Soon enough it became a brawl as soon the Egg Flames had rushed over to try and light the two on fire. Shade wouldn't have it as soon she slashed through the Badnik's circuitry, disabling its flame properties before knuckles delivered a smashing punch straight into the center of the Badnik, sending the Egg Flame hurtling straight into the boiling lake, exploding on impact with the overheated water. Soon enough the same fate befell the other Egg Flame, leaving the two in a ring of scrap around the area. Shade sighed in relief, soon sheathing her two blades.

"Let's keep searching." She spoke, the two echidnas heading deeper into the cave. Passing what appeared to be an old signpost, the two would soon come to a rather large pit with spikes at the bottom... but something didn't feel right.

"Something's up with this pit..." Shade spoke, peering down into the black abyss. "It doesn't... feel right..."

"Should we try the rock test?" Knuckles asked.

"The what?" Shade asked in return.

"The rock test. Y'know, drop a rock down there, see if it makes a hollow sound that something's on the other side?" Knuckles said.

"Well... I suppose we could try." Shade said, soon grabbing a small rock and tossing it down the pit. Missing the spikes and colliding with the ground directly, both Shade and knuckles would hear a bit of an echo at the bottom of the spike pit.

"Well, that confirms something is definitely on the other side..." Shade spoke, turning to Knuckles. "So now wh-" She interrupted herself as she saw Knuckles ripping a chunk of earth out of the wall. "Uh... what are you doing?"

"Well, we got confirmation something's behind that pit floor." Knuckles said. "Now we just gotta bust it open."

"...if you say so." Shade spoke as the echidna threw the massive boulder down the pit, the large mass crashing through the floor and down into the pit below, revealing an open passageway downwards...

"Well, looks like we've got one way to go..." Shade spoke. "Let's go." She said, as the two dropped into the pit below...

* * *

The sky was filled heavy with toxic smog as the machines worked away at the oil pumping, the lemur and the wolf making their way through the heavily guarded zone with extreme caution, making sure they didn't slip into the disgusting murky ink below. Tangle had to hold her breath, which really started to ache her lungs, while Whisper had the luxury of her mask to filter the air for her. Octus units would be hovering from platform to platform as they swiveled around, acting as some sort of makeshift turret system while the Aquis badniks kept flitting around the Zone's airspace. Whisper internally sighed in relief; thank goodness the smog was actually helping cover for them for the time being.

Looking through her mask's information receptacles, the scanner on it would soon pick up a point of interest: what appeared to be a ship soon coming in from the skies as it touched down into the oily sea. She could make out the figure of what appeared to be holding a sceptre at the front of the boat, soon jumping off onto the docks... though not without a cough.

"What did I tell you incompetent fools about not clearing the smog out of the air here?!" The figure said. "Get the fans running, now!"

"R-roger boss!" An Egg Pawn said before running over and jumping onto a handle, pulling it down as gigantic fans scattered throughout the zone began to churn, soon blowing the smog out of the surrounding area, making the view of everything clear. Tangle let out a loud gasp as she took in the new fresh air before Whisper quickly clamped her hand over the lemur's mouth, not about to let their prying eyes be found by the enemy.

"There we go. Now then," The figure said, turning out to be Heavy King. "The supplies are in along with the last of the renegade aliens Master Robotnik wanted. Under no circumstances are those nuisances to be freed until they serve no more useful purposes, understood?"

"Roger roger!" Another Egg Pawn said as he flagged down more of his kind, now the Octus's on high alert as they kept wide eyes for intruders. Heavy Shinobi would soon leap out of the ship itself, standing next to Heavy King.

"Now then, now that that's underway," King said, looking to Shinobi. "We need to make sure _nothing_ is in here, understood?"

Shinobi merely nodded.

"Good. "I'm going to go get the Mega Octus fired up." King said, moving away. "You patrol the surface of the ocean. That's an order!"

"Very well." Shinobi spoke as he soon lept to a nearby boat, several shadow clones of himself spawning as soon his sword slashes started propelling the boat away from the docking at a rather quick pace.

Whisper grit her teeth, soon releasing her grip on Tangle. "Looks like we've got objectives." The wolf quietly said to her partner. "And see where they are going."

Tangle would look to see the Egg Pawns were hauling off the supplies... as well as the Wisp capsules... towards what appeared to be a rather large elevator of sorts, loading into its large holding space. Whisper motioned to the lemur to follow her lead as she soon darted from cover to cover, taking care for the Badniks not to see her...

...before she dodge-rolled behind a piece of machinery right next to the elevator. Keeping her figure as low to the ground as possible and her tail completely motionless, soon Tangle would join behind her as soon the elevator button turned green again.

"Tail." Whisper spoke quietly. "Call for it." Tangle nodded in response as she stretched her tail and hit the call elevator button with one of its furry fingers, then pulled back as the two waited in silence for the elevator to come...

Soon enough a ding would be heard as the elevator doors opened and several Badniks would be stepping out, not seeing Tangle and Whisper's hiding spots as they darted into the elevator, hitting the button as the door closed behind them without the robots knowing. Tangle breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator began its slow descent.

"That was too close for comfort." Whisper spoke. "We were almost caught when you let out that gasp."

"Can ya blame me?" Tangle spoke. "I don't have lungs of steel! I don't have the kind of mask you have!"

"That still doesn't excuse it." Whisper spoke. "What if they had heard you? If it weren't for my reaction, you'd be dead!"

"I could take them." Tangle countered.

"A horde of Pawns, maybe, but not an entire legion of them, plus two of Robotnik's highest ranking generals in the entire empire." Whisper countered, before looking out at the ocean now that they had passed the several meter-thick oily surface... seeing the underwater base coming into view, the lavender and gold metallic outer shell pumping down the oil from above as several larger machines capped the underwater thermal jets, harnessing the heat from the volcanic activity for power in the base.

"Looks like this is going to be a rather large search..." Whisper spoke.

"Remind me what exactly are we looking for?" Tangle asked. "I doubt it's gonna be that Hidden Palace thing at this rate because of this whole monster..."

"Miles needed us for searching the large energy signal, no matter what cost it is." Whisper spoke. "So let's start searching."

* * *

Soon after reaching the bottom of the pit, Knuckles and Shade would soon find themselves not in the same cavern they were in before; gone was the charred rocks and mine aesthetic, now adorning the walls were green and lavender colored jewels, seemingly pulsating from their own energy. The walls and ground were made from an extremely hard brown-colored jewel-like substance, covering the entirity of the floor and ceiling. Off in the distance of the cave the magma would be slowly flowing in from the ceiling, soon hitting down on the much cooler water of the cavern and causing steam to rise up into the air.

"So..." Shade breathed. "This must be the Hidden Palace..."

"Looks like it." Knuckles said. "Let's find that shrine so we can get that teleporter set up."

Shade nodded in response before the two set off into the cavern itself, seeing the untouched landscape as they trekked across its uneven landscape and the occasional emerald walkways that comprised its interior. Soon enough they came close as they soon were descending a staircase deeper and deeper into the island... spiraling downwards...

...before it finally came to an end of a long hallway adorned with murals, much like the ones of Angel Island. As the two silently trekked down the corridor, Shade had a chill run up her spine in anticipation. This could be exactly what they were looking for...

The two would reach the end of the corridor, a central light pouring out of an open hole of the ceiling onto a large altar in the middle of a lake. Seven pillars surrounded the center altar and from the emerald symbols on the pillars themselves, the two finally knew...

They found it.

Knuckles smiled, starting to get the stuff out of the pack. "Alright, we found it!" Knuckles said. "Now to just get that teleporter set up..."

Shade however was speechless as she wandered across the altar in awe, gazing at the serene calmess of her surroundings. She hadn't even realized how much time had past until she had heard the distinct whirring sound of the teleporter, looking back to see Knuckles had just gone through back to base. Shade held her breath, still looking around in awe at the surroundings of the Hidden Palace just as Knuckles came back with the Master Emerald.

"Still looking around?" Knuckles asked, snapping Shade out of her trance.

"Y-yeah..." Shade spoke, turning back to Knuckles. "Ready?"

Knuckles nodded in response, soon setting the Master Emerald into the center pillar of the altar as its green energy soon sent a glow through the rune-like patterns on the floor, connecting to each of the seven smaller pillars in the room.

"We... we did it." Shade spoke.

Knuckles nodded in response. "All we need now is to find those last Emeralds..."

* * *

 **With Hidden Palace uncovered and the Master Emerald secured in its new temporary home, Knuckles and Shade have successfully completed their mission of the search. But what of Whisper and Tangle? Where are they headed out at Oil Ocean? Find out next time in Chapter 18: "20,000 Leagues under the Oil Ocean"...**


	19. Chapter 18: 20,000 Leagues Under the Oil

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 3_**

 _Chapter 18: 20,000 Leagues Under the Oil Ocean_

* * *

Badniks were scampering about the base's lavender floorings as the Egg Pawns were driving the cargo recently offloaded from the ship towards Storage Bay 2-X-B. However, unbeknownst to the robots would there be some contraband along for the ride. Soon enough the large bay doors opened up as the cargo was unloaded, being placed in a rather meticulous order around the room in sorting before they stepped back, looking over the crates one last time before heading back to the cart, the Wisp capsules still on board with the squirming scared aliens inside them.

"Hey, uh, weren't we supposed to offload the Wisp things here?" One of the Egg Pawns said.

"No, dummy!" Another one said, smacking him upside the head. "King's orders were to take these things to the main generators! Otherwise we're gonna lose power to this entire place!"

"But we have oil."

"That crap is way too coarse for using as fuel! If it lit on fire, it'd probably blow up the entire base!" The one Egg Pawn said. "What do you think we're making all those Firebreaths for?!"

"Ooooooohh..." The other Egg Pawn said as the cart drove away and the massive bay doors shut, leaving the room in silence... before a light thumping would be heard as the vixen's boot smashed open the side of the crate, her and the hare crawling out of the side of it facing away from the door as to not leave evidence of their intrusion.

"Good thinking with the hiding spot." Hanna spoke. "I don't even thing those slag heaps know we're here."

"Well, we can't risk them knowing we're here." Rob spoke. "Chances are those hallways are going to be crawling with Badnik guards. We need an alternate route into another room."

"Vents?"

"Vents." Rob answered, starting to look around the room. "Though... we may not be lucky since storage rooms like these wouldn't have a need for a ventilation shaft."

"So what other choice do we really have? I highly doubt that either of us can disguise as a Badnik well enough." Hanna spoke. "Metal bulky parts just don't match my element, or my frame for that matter."

"We'll just have to hide cautiously." Rob said as Hanna's ear twitched, turning towards the door.

"There's more coming." She said. "We need a plan, now."

"Hide under their cargo transport." Rob answered as the doors slowly opened, the two getting on either side as the next cargo cart came in. Keeping still and silent, once the massive cart came through the door, both Hanna and Rob would roll underneath the vehicle, gripping to the underside chasis and keeping a firm hold as soon the cart would back out from the hold and move off down the corridor again, the vixen's tail twitching in anxiousness as she soon looked down at the stainless steel ground below her... only to also see through glass windows into the oily ocean below them if it wasn't the seafloor. Hanna swallowed hard at her realization of what this base really was.

Rob's ear twitched a bit as he could sense the discomfort of his partner. He motioned to her to calm down before soon seeing what looked like an alcove the two could hide in. Grabbing her wrist, the two would dive out from underneath the cart without being seen by any other robots within the immediate area. Feeling his heart rate finally starting to lower ever since this infiltration started because of Hanna's rash action, Rob would finally look at their current loaction... and see why Hanna's discomfort was so evident. The lavender and gold walls, the gold and green piping running from the hanging ceiling, the security cameras...

This was clearly Eggman's own interpretation of Brevon's old Thermal Base from Avalice.

But the chances were he already learning from the warlord's mistakes.

Rob grit his teeth, looking to Hanna. "We've got some recording to do."

The vixen nodded in response. "Right." She said, as the two snuck off into the base...

* * *

More Octus units would be scanning across the corridors as they kept their optics open, only to soon be burst by a laser shot that ricocheted off the walls and pierced through each one, taking them down altogether. Keeping her composure, Whisper shifted the position of her gun back into the neutral position before the two took off deeper into the corridors, soon seeing the newer model Egg Pawns coming after them in a wave-like fashion. Tangle, sticking to her instincts, swirled her tail in a top like motion, smashing through several of the robotic shells as they fell into a pile. The two would round a corner as they ducked behind a wall, letting more of the stampeding Egg Pawns run past without them knowing of their location.

"Well, we've certainly distracted them." Whisper spoke. "Not in the way I would have preferred to though..."

"It'll keep them off our backs for a while, won't they?" Tangle said.

"Yes, but now the base is on a high-strung alert." Whisper countered. "We didn't need the raise for an alarm cause. Now move."

"Right." Tangle said as the two took off into the next corridor, soon finding the open pipes of oil running through the floor. Soon sliding across the corridor, Whisper made a mental note to keep track of these open pipes; she had a gut feeling it might come in handy later.

Skidding around the corner, Whisper rolled up to behind an outcropping in the wall as Tangle met up by her side. Repositioning her mask, she'd look through the optic to soon see at least four confirmed hostiles up ahead, Egg Pawns for sure. She grit her teeth; this was going to be harder than she thought. She needed a way to take out all four of them at once...

It dawned on her, and quickly she shifted her weapon as it shifted to a darker black hue before taking a shot at the group of pawns. The gun would spit out a small orb-like projectile as it landed in the center of the four Pawns. One would look down to look at it.

And then it exploded, making short work of the Pawns as Whispter and Tangle made their way up to the next door.

"How much further we got?" Tangle asked.

Whisper checked the scanner on her mask. "...fifteen-hundred meters downwards."

"Greeeeat." Tangle said. "Better hope we find more elevators; I am NOT looking forward to taking the stairs. "

"Would you stop with the snide comments already?" The wolf growled. "How can you be cracking wiseass comments in dire time such as this?"

"You seriously need to get that stick out of your rear end." Tangle spoke. "Seriously, I knew you before Eggman's takeover, and now you're this? Whatever happened to that shy socially-awkward wolf I met in Mystic Jungle all those years ago?"

"War, that's what!" Whisper barked, nearly clocking the lemur in the face as she whipped around. "I don't know if you've been paying attention, but this is a crisis we have on our hands. Everyone's lives, yours, mine, the Resistance's, it all depends on whether or not we win this fight! Cockiness leads to arrogance, arrogance leads to downfall!"

"Maybe, but being pretentious and so serious it hurts doesn't help either." Tangle shot back. "This isn't you Whisper. I know this isn't you-"

"What do you know?!" Whisper growled back, her voice rising for the first time ever since she joined the Resistance. "Acting all carefree in the face of danger isn't 'strategy', it's just going to get yourself killed!"

"Well being uptight and not knowing when to relax can also get you killed!" Tangle shot back.

"How would you know?!" Whisper yelled.

"BECAUSE ITS WHAT KILLED MY MOM!" Tangle yelled, soon angrily slamming Whisper across the hallway with her tail, her frame trembling. The wolf had the wind knocked out of her as she hit the back wall, her weapon falling to her side as she remained motionless.

"Wh... Whisper?" Tangle asked, soon rushing over to check the wolf's pulse...

She didn't feel one.

Tangle felt a pang at her heart freeze. "Oh... oh gods... Wh-Whisper... I..." She stammered, soon realizing the gravity of what she just did. Feeling her courage fleeting her in an instant, she took off away from Whisper's motionless form; she couldn't stand to see what she had done to her...

That was, until Whisper soon squirmed and sat up, holding her head in pain.

"Nnngghh..." She moaned, soon opening her eyes to see that Tangle was gone. "...shit." She breathed, and soon rushed off to find the lemur, sliding down the mechanical hallways as soon large screens came on in the halls, showing none other than Heavy King's face on the screen.

"Attention troops." King's voice spoke over the screens as Whisper continued her rush down the corridors in search of Tangle. "It appears we have some... 'unwanted guests' snooping around where their noses do not belong. Should anyone see these two little Resistance-affiliated rats, do not hesitate in using full force to subdue them. And whomever you find of the rats, bring them directly to me."

Whisper grit her teeth as she overheard the oversized Eggrobo talking. "We'll see how long you keep that bravado up once I'm through with your defenses..."

Though with Tangle, she didn't get too far before she soon found her... currently trapped in a chokehold by Heavy Shinobi. Before the wolf could even attempt to get a shot in on the robot, he vanished in a blast of smoke, leaving no trace he and Tangle were even there...

The wolf grit her teeth; finding her ally was going to be much harder than she anticipated...

* * *

"Nnnnggghh..." The lemur moaned, her vision blurry as she tried to move her hands to wipe her eyes... only to find she couldn't move them. Worry started to grip her as she struggled to move, soon finding out she had been restrained to what felt like a metal table of some sorts, adjustable from a computer console nearby. Part of her cockiness came back, she could just reach over and-

'...why isn't my tail responding?' The lemur thought, the panic starting to set back in as she soon saw it was heavily restrained, much more so than her arms, legs or torso. She squirmed hard, trying to break free of her restraints before a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I would advise against doing that." A voice said as a figure stepped out from the dark, revealing it to be none other than Heavy King. "After all, the life expectancy of your little Resistance pests are... not that high, let's put it."

"Let me go you sadistic bag of bolts!" Tangle growled, trying to squirm out of the restraints, only to soon feel them tighten harder.

"Hmph... you're certainly not one for playing by the rules." King spoke, his tone ominous and chilling. "However, I will not tolerate any sort of foul play from your mouth, so do not expect any mercy should you decide to defy me."

Tangle spat in King's face, earning a very unamused glare from him before a smash came across the side of her face with the blunt end of his sceptre. "...very well then, if that's how you're wanting to play, then I can accommodate for your... primitive methods." He spoke, a hint of acid in his sinister tone as he turned to the console. "Shinobi. Activate it."

"Understood, King." The other Hard Boiled Heavy spoke as the console soon fired up, a low hum filling the room with crackling sounds as King stared down at the lemur, who was still trying to squirm free. a small capsule would descend out of the top of the room, encased in it was an Ivory Wisp, still trying to throw itself against the glass to break free.

"Now then..." King spoke, his red optics almost burrowing into Tangle's soul. "Where are they?"

Tangle glared back. "Where are what?"

"The Chaos Emeralds that are claimed property of the Holy Robotnik Regime." King spoke back. "And I suggest you choose your next words wisely..."

"Like hell they're yours!" Tangle angrily said, not even flinching at Heavy King's threat.

"...hmph, very well then." Heavy King said. "You just need a little... 'coercing'." His optics would then look to Heavy Shinobi. "Set the bar for the lowest voltage."

Tangle froze up. 'Voltage?' She thought, trying to squirm more before the electricity coursed through her veins at a low painful input, feeling her veins burning from the inside as tears started to flow, her lungs not getting the air. The voltage soon stopped, Tangle slacking on the board, panting heavily and in pain.

"I'll ask again." King spoke, his tone remaining ominous. "Where is our property?"

"Ggghhh..." Tangle merely gurgled out. "I-If you think I-I'm gonna stoop as low as to be begging from torture, you got another thing coming, asshole!" Tangle growled in response.

"...another shock. Higher voltage." King merely responded before Tangle shrieked in agony from the volts flowing through her, feeling her skin burning inside and her muscles aching in writing pain as the volts unnaturally coursed through her body. The voltage shut off again as Tangle slumped once more, breathing heavily from the pain.

"Your stubbornness is amusing, but really, you're wasting my time here." Heavy King spoke. "Since you seem so uncooperative in telling me the location of the Emeralds, I'll move on to a better topic; where is the location of your Resistance's base?"

"U-up your ass..." Tangle coughed out.

Heavy King would merely glare at the lemur before backhanding her hard across the face, drawing blood from her nose as it streamed down the from of her muzzle before Shinobi activated the electricity again, this time her screams becoming unbearable as the blood from her nosebleed splattered all across the room.

"Eugh, now that's just disgusting." King spoke. "First you refuse to disclose the locations of the Emeralds or your base, and now you decide to bleed all over the interrogation room?"

Tangle merely grit her teeth. "Go... to hell... you sadistic scrap metal..." She choked out.

"...have it your way then." King spoke, turning to Shinobi. "Max charge."

Shinobi nodded, as soon the slab and Tangle were lit up with coursing hot white electricity. She screamed in complete agony as the burning smell started to come in... and then the electricity stopped, Tangle passed out unconscious from the electrocution and blood loss...

"Hmph, disappointing." King spoke, turning and heading for the door.

"And of the runt?" Shinobi asked.

"Leave her." King merely responded. "she's of no use to us right now, and I'm not risking an escape like with what happened with that Corazon brat when Lord Robotnik handed off Sonic and Sash to her. She is to be detained here at all times, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Shinobi spoke, bowing slightly.

"Good." King spoke as the two left the room, leaving the unconscious broken Tangle to herself...

* * *

The lower engines would be like a blast furnace as the heat expelled outwards into the large chambers from the pistons, the lower generator rooms acting like a swelter system. Needless to day, Hanna wasn't exactly too thrilled when she and Rob managed to find their way into here.

"Ancestors, it at least has to be a thousand fuckin' degrees in here..." Hanna growled. "Remind me why we're in this sector of the base again?"

"We need to get those creatures out." Rob spoke. "Doesn't matter what they are, they can't just be genociding an entire species for a fuel for a base."

"Point fuckin' taken, now how the hell are we supposed to go about doing it without letting the whole damn place know we're here?" Hanna shot back. "If we take out the power here, we're gonna get seen y'know."

"Well, you got any other plans?" Rob asked.

"Does it look like I do?" Hanna retorted.

"No." Rob flatly answered.

"Fair enough." Hanna spoke, seeing the magma flowing through the outer container walls. "First things first, let's find the creepy little buggers."

"Well, looks like that might be our first lead." Rob said, pointing off towards a ceiling direction of the room. Hanna would soon turn to see a capsule of the cyan Wisps being pulled along a ceiling crane belt towards an opening into another room.

"Duly noted." Hanna spoke before she took off, soon leaping up onto the higher contraptions as they worked away in synchronocy, pumping the magma as they rose and fell. The vixen would be making quick leaps between the platforms as they bobbed and weaved, soon enough whipping around a pole-like structure as she soon landed straight into the corridor for the crane's hauling. Rob would be up not long after that, and soon the two would be moving through the small holding corridor before they entered into the next room, sliding down the massive pipeworks in it as they two rounded a loop in the piping. Skidding to a halt, large bursts of flame would come up from dark patches, only to be stamped out by the massive pistons from the ceiling. Hanna would point, indicating of the next corridor the Wisp capsule was taken through before the two would go through the piping system and come out in the other room, soon finding what appeared to be where that cyan Wisp capsule was taken.

The Wisps were being dumped into an enormous machine, the glass container holding back their attempts to break out of it as they threw their miniature bodies at it. They were desperate for freedom, as if also evident from their cries. They were terrified. At the bottom of the machine was a claw, soon forcefully grabbing a single Wisp at a time before stuffing each one into a smaller capsule below, the capsules being fed out of the room like an assembly line.

Rob tensed up. "Alright, we need to get this machine shut down. Those creatures in there are no doubt in pain." He spoke, as Hanna went over to the assembly line, looking at the capsuled Wisps.

"Hmmm..." Hanna spoke. "Maybe if we get one of these guys out they could help us burst open the machine itself?"

"I don't know, but we've got to try something." Rob spoke, walking over to the conveyor belt. "Question is... which one do we grab?"

Hanna would look between the conveyor belt capsules... before she grabbed one, a Red Wisp inside the capsule. "This little fire guy looks useful, wanna try it with it?"

"You sure about that?" Rob asked, looking at the Wisp. "I'm not sure what it could be..."

"C'mon! This guy looks like a little fuckin' fireball! How the hell can we not?!" Hanna said bursting open the capsule and setting the Wisp free. "Alright buddy, let's get your friends out of that hunk of junk."

However, the Wisp was so overjoyed that Hanna had freed it that it flew inside Hanna, starting to make her glow red.

"Woahwoahwoahwoah hey! What the hell?!" Hanna yelled. "I didn't consent to thi-" Was the last thing that came out of her mouth before a flash of red enveloped her and she transformed into a large fireball with yellow eyes, soon blasting across the room and releasing explosions across the encapsulating room, the explosions breaking apart the machine like it was nothing...

Soon enough Hanna came crashing back down next to the hare, the Wisp popping out of her as it bubbled in gibberish, happy at the freedom of its friends as Hanna tried to pick herself up off the floor.

"You alright Hanna?" Rob asked as he helped the vixen up.

"Aside from the fact I just had my personal space violated by an alien and turned into a living explosion of fire, yeah, I think I'll be okay." The vixen responded, getting to her feet, seeing the swarms of alien creatures now flying around the room, happy they were free from the machine. "And from the looks of it, these guys will be too."

"Well, we've done what we could." Rob spoke. "Only thing is... how do we get out of the base?"

"Good question." Hanna responded. "Though given we've just released all these guys, the base is gonna go into panic mode. So chances are stealth is now completely out of the question."

"So..."

"Beat the shit out of all the robots in the way?" Hanna said. "Yes. Yes we do."

"Ho boy..." Rob spoke, rolling his eyes. "Well, if we go down here, 's on your head."

"As if I'll get killed here!" Hanna remarked.

"Suit yourself." Rob replied before the two burst through the door to the corridors, letting the Wisps flood out with them...

* * *

The wolf would skid around the corner as she fired back at the horde of Egg Pawns chasing after her. How had security gotten tighter after she and Tangle had been separated?! Surely only the few Badniks she scrapped through her mission in here couldn't have set off that large of red flags, has it?

Didn't help that soon several Motobugs would be rounding the corner and charging straight for her. Whisper grit her teeth, switching her weapon's systems as it soon became a hammer, she twirled like a top through the group of Motobugs as they crashed into the walls, blowing apart the Badniks. Keeping her momentum, she'd slam the hammer into the ground as she lept over another set of charging Motobugs before her weapon altered forms and opened fire on the Badniks, three orange missiles coming out of the barrel and exploding on the group of insectoid robots before she landed on the other side.

She'd internally sigh; if attention wasn't drawn to her before, it _definitely_ was now. She kept moving for her own sake; if she slowed down now she'd more than likely be caught. Skidding around the corner, she'd soon see a few Egg Pawns carrying a combined table of Wisp capsules; just her luck! She'd soon have her weapon switched to a new mode again as a pink sawblade was loaded in the front. Keeping her pace, she'd soon slide right under the table, sticking the sawblade up as she'd soon slide right underneath, the table slicing clean in half as the capsules broke on the ground. The Wisps would scamper into the air, some of them immediately flying into the Egg Pawns and making them detonate from the overload of their Hyper-Go-On energy, while others, specifically, an Orange Rocket Wisp, Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill, and Green Hover, went after Whisper herself, soon travelling alongside the wolf.

"Ah, so you're wanting to come along, are you?" Whisper asked the Wisps. Hover would respond in its blurbly gibberish, and Whisper nodded. "Very well. Drill, into my Wispon!" The Yellow Wisp would comply as it flew into Whisper's weapon, the weapon changing form as the front barrel became more pointed and sleek. A synthesized voice from the Wispon would yell out 'DRILL' as soon Whisper took off much faster along the floor of the base's corridors, twirling like a drill along the metallic purple flooring as the other Wisps followed after her. Several Badniks would be attempting to ambush her, but soon would be thrown aside from the Color Power activated in her Wispon, smashing against the walls as the other three Wisps followed suit. Soon enough the Color Power would wear off as the Drill Wisp soon popped out of the Wispon, again following along with the group as Whisper rounded another corner, skidding down the steep slope meant for a lift before leaping off, vaulting herself off the top of another Egg Pawn before the Octus turrets opened fire.

"Down!" Whisper yelled as she slid under the fire, the Wisps following up with the same. "Damnit, with this much fire, I can't find Tangle!"

The Cyan Wisp then flew into the Wispon, activating the next Color Power as the Wispon soon fired of a large reflective laser, bouncing off several walls and crashing through the Octus turrets, shredding them entirely. The Cyan Wisp would fly out of the Wispon, Whisper continuing her run... before a horde of the Badniks would be rushing straight for her.

"Oh shit..." She breathed, skidding to a halt and starting to run the other way. There was no way she could take on that many Badniks at once!

Of course... then she'd hear what sounded like a horde of burbling...

"What?" She asked herself, before her Wisps responded with the same happy burbling.

"Your friends?"

Soon enough the hallways would be flooded with escaping Wisps as the horde soon flew into the Badniks, making them detonate from overloading their circuits with the Hyper-Go-On energy, soon enough making the corridor filled with scrap metal. The several Wisps would be rejoicing in their freed state and destroyed robots as soon Hanna and Rob rounded the corner.

"Damnit, we missed the action again!" Hanna spoke. "I really wanted to scrap some robots this time..."

"Look, we need to find the exit." Rob spoke, before noticing the wolf. "Another Resistance member?"

The wolf nodded. "Whisper. Mobius division."

"Rob Stiil, Avalice Resistance division." Rob answered. "And my partner Hanna."

"Hanna Skarlett, thank you." The vixen spoke. "Either way, wasn't expecting to find another Resistance member in here."

"Tails sent myself and associate to investigate." Whisper spoke. "Associate was kidnapped, and can't find her."

"Well, that certainly ain't good." Hanna spoke. "What, you need help finding her?"

Whisper nodded. "Can't do this alone."

"Well then, where should we start looking?"

* * *

Pain. Agony. Regrets. Those were coursing through Tangle's mind as she laid there electrocuted on that board, tears flowing from her eyes. She was going to die here... her hope was gone and so was all that confidence and bravado. This was it; this was her end...

She looked up at the capsule above her with the Ivory Wisp, tears in her eyes. The Wisp was still trying to throw itself against the container it was in, trying to break free as it let out distressed blurbling.

"I-It's okay... little guy..." Tangle barely choked out, feeling the pain coursing through her with every breath she took. "I-it's not y-your fa-ault..." A cough would rip through her system, causing a bit of blood to come up and splatter on the floor. "Y-you didn't h-hurt me... it-it... it's all gon... gonna... be..." Tangle would collapse completely on the board, the pain and agony of her nerves having overloaded her senses and knocked her out...

Though soon a loud banging would come at the door before it was thrown open, Whisper, Hanna, and Rob charging in, along with the few Wisps that were accompanying Whisper. The wolf gasped upon seeing the electrocuted lemur attached to the board, completely unconscious and electrical burns marring her body. Almost instantly she went to work and smashed the restraints off the board while Hanna and Rob smashed open the capsule holding the Wisp, which immediately flitted down to Tangle's side as Whisper held her unconscious body close.

"T-Tangle..." Whisper spoke, tears starting to form in her eyes as she hugged the lemur tightly. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but we can't dawdle around here!" Hanna said. "Longer we stay here, the more likely we're gonna get fucked over by the horde of robots that's coming after us!"

"Hanna's got a good point." Rob spoke. "Let's get out of here while we still can..."

Whisper nodded as she hoisted Tangle onto her back as the four look off out of the base...

* * *

It wasn't long before the three burst out into the open area again, the Wisps flying out and scattering away from Oil Ocean Zone, off to several other points on both planets, aside from the ones that decided to stick with Whisper. Soon enough the three had scaled a large scaffolding and were running across the deck of the large submarine in the drydocks, several of the worker Badniks scurrying off as the three ran through. However, their escape attempt would soon be failed as Heavy Shinobi soon appeared out of the smoke, soon tossing several Asterons as they sliced through the cabling of the ship's drydock supports, causing the ship to collapse down into the ocean itself, floating on the oily surface. After the three tried to get their stability down... they soon felt the oily water rock the ship. It wasn't long before the long pink metallic tentacles shot out of the inky black and gripped tightly around the sub's frame, holding it in place and threatening to take it apart. Soon enough the large Octus head emerged from the oily black ocean as it stared down on the group, the hatch at the top opening to show Heavy King emerging... and not looking too pleased at that.

"Well, you little rats have certainly done your snooping, but that will not be allowed anymore now." King spoke, acid in his tone. "I hope you enjoy a burial at sea; once the oil is done corroding your dead bodies there will be no trace of your existence here anymore."

"As if lead-face!" Hanna growled.

Heavy King would merely glare at Hanna, slamming down one of the Mega Octus's tentacles mere inches from her.

"You know, I think you made him mad..." Rob commented.

"Like I care!" Hanna said.

"Whisper." Rob spoke to the wolf. "Get the hostage to safety. We'll handle this."

"I'll provide cover fire." Whisper spoke before took off for the edge of the sub. Several other tentacles with twirling holed orbs would rise out of the oil before opening fire on the wolf. Whisper grit her teeth as she soon lept off the sub, leaping off the top of the turret orbs as she soon made it to the drydock scaffolding. Scaling it quickly, she'd soon reach an upper platform and set down Whisper and let her rest to the side as she readied her Wispon, setting it to the laser sniper setting as she took aim at the Mega Octus...

"HMPH! Your insolence wears my patience thin!" Heavy King spoke, dipping back into the gigantic Badnik as it resubmerged into the oil. "I will personally make sure you don't survive this!"

"Bring it!" Hanna yelled.

The Octus's tentacles would soon start to try and crunch the ship into pieces. Whisper would immediately fire off several laser snipes at the offending tentacles as they slunk back into the ocean, out of sight. Hanna kept a close guard on the sea as her eyes darted from area to area, before moving as another new tentacle came crashing inwards towards the sub, slamming down hard. Hanna would then proceed to viciously attack the tentacle, laying into with with a flurry of hard-hitting kicks and punches, before it essentially disassembled itself from the damage, the many orbs making it up bouncing back into the oily water.

Rob would grip his sais, eyes darting across the inky water before another tentacle with an orb turret emerged from the oil, ready to open fire on the deck of the sub. Rob would dodge-roll out of the way of the oncoming fire as he soon threw one of his sai at the orb, catching the outer shell and jamming on the turret holes. With it jammed, it attempted to fire again, but this merely resulted in the tentacle blowing apart, throwing the sai back onto the deck as the tentacle collapsed into the oil itself.

"He's certainly persistent." Rob spoke as the main head surfaced a bit aways from them, soon looking skyward as the snout puckered up... before shooting several missiles out of its snout into the air, intending to rain them down on the sub's deck. Hanna tensed up as her tail twitched madly.

"Yo! Wolfy!" Hanna yelled to Whisper. "Think you can take some of those missiles out?!"

Whisper grit her teeth, taking aim at some of the falling missiles as she activated the laser rifle shots again, taking out several of the missiles... but some of them would appear to have harder plating than others.

"Shit!" Hanna yelled. " Nonononono, I am NOT going down with this ship!" She said, soon slamming a roundhouse kick straight into the armored missile, sending it careening back towards the Mega Octus, causing it to rotate on its head axis before it rightened itself, an enraged look on it's face before it sank back into the oil itself.

"We get it?" The vixen asked, rushing to the edge of the sub to look out... only to be answered as a tentacle shot out of the oil and tried to choke her around the neck, looking to pull her in. Rob acted on a panic instinct and slashed at the tentacle as it fell apart, falling back into the oil and nearly taking Hanna with it had Rob not grabbed her and pulled her back.

"I'm gonna take that as a hard 'no'." Rob spoke as the tentacles raised from the oily sea again, soon grabbing at the large oil tanks on the other side of the oily arena and chucking them at the ship.

Hanna gasped. "There's no fuckin' way this sub's gonna survive that!" She yelled.

"Hold on!" Whisper called to them as she changed her Wispon to its rocket launcher mode and opened fire on the large oil tanks, exploding them in the air.

Rob flashed a thumbs-up to Whisper, before turning his attention back to the Mega Octus, which had now resurfaced a minigun barrel formed in its snout as it opened fire on the sub. Both Hanna and Rob scrambled from the bullet fire as Whisper took aim to cripple that snout from firing that minigun.

Shot fired; just narrowly missed the target as it retreated back into the ocean. Damn.

Whisper grit her teeth as she aimed down-scope, trying to get a read of where that Mega Octus went. Her aim darted frantically from point to point in the oily waters, trying to get a read of where that gigantic Badnik sub went...

And soon got her answer in the worst way possible as a spike-tipped tentacle was lunging out of the oil, heading straight for her. The wolf reacted quickly as she soon switched to hammer mode, batting the tentacle away before it could harm her or the already injured Tangle.

"He's aware of me!" Whisper yelled. "I need backup!"

"Shit." Hanna said as she and Rob saw the Mega Octus emerging from the oil and using its tentacles to try and start climbing the drydock scaffolding. "We gotta take that thing down!" She yelled as she rushed for the massive octopus-shaped sub, soon scaling the drydocking to try and tear the mech off of the scaffolding.

"Hanna, wait!" Rob yelled.

But it was too late. Hanna had already pried off a tentacle on the drydock scaffolding, throwing the balance of the mech off as it soon tipped and fell off it, crashing on the hard surfacing of the drydock itself, beginning to explode into pieces.

"FUCK!" Hanna yelled. "I didn't think it'd start exploding like that!"

"IN SUB, NOW!" Whisper yelled as she grabbed Tangle and made a dive off the scaffolding, landing hard on the sub as she rolled across it, scrambling for the hatch as the Wisps accompanying her flew in as well. Soon enough Hanna and Rob would dive in as well as the hatch sealed tightly on it.

From the exploding frame of the Mega Octus, Heavy King would eject into the air, soon warping out of the area back to main base further away on Westside as the exploding Mega Octus sank into the ocean... before the entire ocean violently detonated, sending a massive column of fire into the air and launching most debris into the stratosphere entirely. However, one submarine would come crashing back down into the ocean outside the perimeter of Westside Island, its outside shell utterly charred entirely. The top hatch would open up as Whisper, Hanna, and Rob flopped out onto the top deck, panting exhaustively.

"Holy... ancestors..." Rob breathed. "That... was... WAY too close for comfort."

"Y-yeah..." Hanna panted. "Y-you okay Whisper?"

No response.

"Whisper?"

A noise this time... giggling?

"Uh... you okay Whisper?" Hanna asked, now confused.

At this point Whisper broke down into full-out laughing, tears flowing from her eyes as she just let it out of her system. She laughed for a few minutes before she finally calmed down, almost out of breath.

"Seriously, you okay?" Hanna asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine..." Whisper spoke... though her tone was less tense. "Just the adrenaline rush."

Rob nodded. "You got contact to base at all?"

Whisper nodded, sliding her mask down and activating her comm unit...

* * *

Everyone had hit the deck in the Resistance base when the explosion incident happened, the explosion hard enough to rock South Island from Westside Island. What the hell was going on over there?!

Though Tails would get the answers as a call came through on the main computer.

"Agent Whisper coming in!" The voice said. "Are you there Tails?"

"Whisper! Are you alright?!" Tails said. "We just felt a massive explosion here not long ago! What's going on over there?!"

"Uh... long story." Hanna's voice spoke over the comm.

"Hanna?!" Tails exclaimed.

"Remember that ship we were on? Well, we got out at Oil Ocean Zone on your planet." Rob spoke. "Turns out that fat bastard had a complete enslavement of some sort of alien race he was going to use as fuel for his base's generators filling up here at the Zone. Man-"

"He had gotten at the Wisps?!" Tails yelled.

"Don't worry; they are free now." Whisper spoke. "And at this point in time, Oil Ocean Zone in of itself is completely leveled."

"Wait. Was that the explosion we felt?!" Amy yelled.

"Yeah... sorry about that." Hanna spoke. "One of his head robots tried to attack us as we were escaping in this gigantic octopus submarine, but the explosion... kinda detonated the entire Zone. Sorry."

Half the group in the base sweatdropped from that statement.

"Well, that's one way to stop his resources..." Knuckles dryly commented.

"E-either way... are you guys on your way back now?" Tails asked.

"We're on our way as we speak." Rob spoke.

"Alright." Tails said. "Get here as soon as possible to rest up."

"We're shipping out early tomorrow morning: got a juicy tidbit that the bad doc's gonna be launching a full scale assault on Empire City on the mainland, and we'll need everyone here for the planning." Carol spoke. "Got it?"

"Yeah yeah, just hold your face." Hanna spoke. "Don't get your tail in a knot."

Hanna grumbled before the communicator cut out.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'VE DESTROYED OIL OCEAN AND LET MY BEAUTIFUL WISP POWER SOURCE ESCAPE?!" Robotnik roared, slamming his fists on the console.

"I tell it as it is, mi'lord." Heavy King spoke, bowing. "It appears the fox and hare were hiding on the ship ever since we had departed from Jade Creek. As for how the wolf and lemur got in, that's up in the air."

"I don't care where it is, I am outraged that you and Shinobi had let this happen!" Robotnik growled, gripping tightly to the console. "I am not going to allow any more failure from my topmost elite guard of robots that I painstakingly handcrafted from my own bare hands, do I make myself clear?!"

"Understood, Lord Robotnik." Heavy King spoke.

"Good." The mad doc growled. "Now get yourselves prepared for the invasion of Empire City. They can't be holding out forever."

"Yes, mi'lord." Heavy King spoke before the transmission cut out.

* * *

 **An exploded Oil Ocean, the Wisps freed, and a group completed with their mission; these are the three things that make up a good day for the Resistance. But will their luck run out soon enough with the upcoming defense maneuver at Empire City? Or will they be able to prevail once again with their combined Forces? Find out about the culmination of their efforts in Chapter 19: "Crisis at Capital City"...**


	20. Chapter 19: Crisis at Capital City

_**...  
Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 3**_

 _Chapter 19: Crisis at Capital City_

* * *

"Well troops, the stakes have never been higher." Amy stated as the entirety of the Resistance base of Mobius was gathered around the main table of the base. "This is it: this battle is going to determine whether or not we're going to win this war or not."

Tails nodded, stepping up. "According to the stolen information we have, Eggman's forces are planning to fully capture Empire City at precisely 0100 hours to take for more of his empire building land. He already has 70% of the city under their control, and if they succeed, not only will we lose a major supply source for the rest of the troops, but we'll also lose our support from G.U.N. as their main military base is located here. Needless to say, this is our choking point; if we lose this fight, we could be in serious trouble for the road ahead."

"Which is why I've been in charge of our main strategy for this crucial battle of ours." Knuckles said. "I call it, Operation Chicken Choker!"

Nearly everyone burst out laughing in an instant from the operation name.

"Laugh at it if you want, this is almost guaranteed to work!" Knuckles said, soon giving a clap.

"Well what is it, just bum rush in and hope for the best?" Rouge said between her giggles.

"No!" Knuckles yelled. "The way I have the strategy laid out, it's the ultimate pincer attack! We'll almost be guaranteed to win!"

"Explain then, dear Knuckles." Whisper spoke.

Knuckles nodded, soon opening up the map as it focused on several points of interest. "Alright, so we'll need several divisions for this mission in of itself. Myself, Shade, and the Chaotix will be the Earth Division; we'll be handling the main muscle of the along with the main push from the north for the operation itself. If there's any sort of mayday or situation should we need to fall back, our division will announce it."

"Sounds fine to me." Vector commented.

"No qualms here." Espio said.

"I'm ready for 'em!" Charmy said.

"We do this together." Shade answered, before Knuckles continued.

"Tails?"

"Yeah Knuckles?" The kitsune asked.

"You, Carol, Classic, Cyclone, Salamon, and Milla are Metal Division." Knuckles said. "Your job is flanking from the west side of the city and pushing his forces towards the center of the city for the final push."

Tails nodded, as well as the rest of the new AvaMerc.

"Jackal Squad?" Knuckles spoke. "You'll be in charge of the final push; once we get them cornered, hold nothing back and turn them all to scrap."

"Hmph, not a problem to me." Finn spoke.

"We'll make sure they all go down." Fiora answered, and the rest of the jackals nodded.

"Next, Amy?"

"What do you have for me Knuckles?" The pink hedgehog asked.

"You, Cream, Gemerl, and Team Dark will be Fire Division." Knuckles spoke. "You'l-"

 **"ABSOLUTELY NOT."** Omega droned. **"I REFUSE TO WORK ALONGSIDE EGGMAN TECHNOLOGY."**

"Omega, you can't be serious." Shadow groaned.

 **"BITCH, DOES THIS FACE LOOK UNSERIOUS TO YOU?"** Omega countered, pointing directly at his face.

"I dunno, it never changes as far as I can tell." Shadow dryly commented back.

"Can we please not?" Cream asked, stepping inbetween the two. "Mr. Omega, please, Gemerl is not a bad robot!"

 **"I DON'T TRUST HIM."** Omega said. **"EVEN IF TAILS HAD MODIFIED HIM, I DO NOT TRUST THAT HE WILL NOT TURN ON US AT ANY GIVEN SECOND."**

"Understandable." Gemerl finally spoke, catching the others off guard. "Either way, I can at least hope to attain your trust for this mission; it _is_ a vital component for our success after all."

"ANYWAYS!" Knuckles yelled, catching the attention of the group again. "Fire Division, you're the same as the Metal Division except you'll be going from the east side, understood?"

"Right." Amy spoke as the others nodded.

"Alright, where exactly do I fit into all this?" Zeena asked, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at Knuckles.

"Ah, I was just getting to that." Knuckles spoke. "First things first though, you want good news or bad news?"

Zeena sighed. "Good news, let's just get this over with."

"We've located one of your Zeti friends imprisoned in part of the city."

Zeena almost did a 180 in personality.

"Y-YOU FOUND ONE OF THEM?!" She squealed, almost overjoyed at hearing one of the Zeti were found.

Knuckles nodded. "And that'll lead into what I was going to say. Zeena, you, Tangle, Whisper, and Silver are going to be Water Division. Your mission is to rescue that Zeti trapped in Empire City. I'm uploading the coordinates to Whisper's mask as we speak."

Whisper's mask would let out a small ding as she checked her map coordinates in her mask, soon giving a thumbs-up.

"Alright, and last but not least, the remainder of the group will be Wood Division." Knuckles said. "Now then, let's go over the operation in whole."

Everyone closed in to listen.

"Alright, so to get Operation Chicken Choker started off, Wood Division will pop out of the sewers right here," Knuckles said, indicating at a certain point on the map. and will draw fire to get Eggman's robot forces lured in on the choke point. Once that happens, Fire and Metal Divisions will ambush at the choke point and start trapping them in towards the center of the city. Once they reach Grand Park, Jackal Squad, go to town on them. Meanwhile, security will decrease as Eggman's robots will start hoarding in towards the main action of the war. This will leave open wide spaces for Water Division to get into the unguarded buildings and find that Zeti before its too late. And once the robots are properly cornered, Earth Division comes in and hits the final nail in the coffin, perfectly sealing off Eggman's chances of capping the city." Knuckles said. "Alright, any questions?"

Silence.

"None at all?"

"...I've only got one." Milla asked, as everyone turned their attention to her. "What if... what if he uses one of those Phantom Ruby copies?"

"It'll be impossible for him to." Tails spoke. "The copies of the Phantom Ruby can only create and displace nonliving matter as well as create their attacks, it can't change us entirely."

"How would you know this?" Amy asked.

"The studies of the copies that Milla and Zeena found." Tails spoke. "I ran some tests on them during our down time to work out their properties and the extent of their reality warping powers. It turns out all the copies are doing is just altering and displacing nonliving matter."

"What about the original?" Milla asked.

"That I can't say for sure." Tails spoke. "Since the only original is... well..."

"Point taken." Milla spoke, before she sighed. "I guess that means my worries are moot."

"Well, at least you brought it up Milla." Carol said. "It was good thinking."

Milla nodded.

"Any other questions?" Knuckles asked.

Silence again.

"Alright then! Let's get going!"

* * *

The mad doctor sat in his chair at the head of the conference table as the few other figures had stepped into the room, being Heavy King, Infinite, Zavok, and Chaos. Though he knew someone was missing...

"Where is Metal Sonic?" Robotnik asked.

"He's still out waiting at Red Gate Bridge in the Station Square area." Heavy King angrily grumbled. "Personally I don't know why you're having him and that metal dragon waiting out there in the first place."

"Bah, it seems like only Metal Sonic and Infinite have been the only reliable members of my elite Generals thus far." Robotnik growled, tapping his fingers together. "Zavok, your band of misfit freaks has already failed me several times with the escape of several cells' worth of prisoners _and_ the loss of two Chaos Emeralds, not to mention letting one of the actual Zeti escape, useless as her mind powers on my Badniks may be!"

The large red Zeti slammed his fist on the table. "Excuse me, but I believe I'm only responsible for _one_ of those Chaos Emerald losses." Zavok growled.

Robotnik merely shook his head. "The Badnik troop belonging to Zik was takes with moving one of the other Chaos Emeralds before it was stolen and the entire troop scrap-metalled." Robotnik growled. "Heavy King was able to fill me in on the details of that."

Zavok growled, looking across at the large red Eggrobo, who merely rolled his eyes at the red Zeti.

"Don't act so cocky Heavy King." Robotnik spoke. "Need I remind you that your division is also on thin ice with your several incessant failures, including Gunner and Rider's failure to properly identify Resistance members as being dead and extortion of Regime property donuts, Magician's failure to eliminate the half-robot lagomorph, Shinobi's failure to defend the Metropolis Zone generator for Badnik production and failure to inspect for Resistance members on the cargo shipments, and your failures to recover the Chaos Emerald stolen by Corazon, failure to inspect for Resistance members on the cargo shipments, AND letting my Wisp Power escape AND let the Regime's ENTIRE oil supply be violently detonated by one of my own exploding Mega Badniks!"

"THEN WHY THE HELL IS HE STILL A HIGHER RANK THAN MY ZETI GROUP?!" Zavok roared, nearly breaking the table in the process.

"Because _I made them._ " Robotnik spoke. "Your group is not made by my hand."

"Bullshit!" Zavok growled. "Just because they are made by you, they get more benefit of the doubt than my group does?!"

"That's also because I never had much expectations from your pitiful band either." Robotnik spoke, his tone icy. "Especially the failure your group was on the now eliminated Lost Hex."

Zavok growled, slinking back into his chair as Robotnik continued to speak.

"As for you Chaos..." He spoke. "I'm rather disappointed in your performance as well. First your failure to eliminate the other two stragglers of AvaMerc at Station Square's Spring Yard Zone, and then your failure to eliminate two other Resistance Members during our assault on the Star Light Zone of Station Square. Do you have anything to say for yourself in your defense?"

Chaos tilted its head.

"...right, you can't speak." Robotnik growled. "Whatever. Not that it matters, you're sitting this mission out anyways."

Chaos lowered its head, looking down at the table.

"Now then," Robotnik spoke, cracking his knuckles. "I am speaking here to all of you today to discuss an important battle coming up in the Regime's war schedule. In less than 24 hours we will be finalizing the capture and overtaking of Empire City. Metal Milla is already there to help the troops already there try and speed up the capture, however, backup is needed for one final push. And that is where you come in."

"Pray tell, why does one metal bitch need our help when you clearly have more faith in your own inventions?" Zavok growled.

"Because I will need someone to retrieve the Ruby prototype off of her in the off chance she winds up like Metal Tails and Metal Carol." Robotnik growled. "And since you were so kind as to insult my genius work again, your lot will be in charge of retrieving the Ruby should she fall."

"WHAT?!" Zavok roared, slamming his fist on the table. "What bullshit is that?!"

"You brought it up, you take care of it." Robotnik growled. "And any more dissent like that and I will have you personally sent to Null Space like the hedgehog and dragon, understood?"

Zavok grumbled as he sat back down in his chair.

"As for you, Heavy King." The doctor spoke, turning to the large Eggrobo. "Your division is to lead the robot attack on the final capture. Destroy G.U.N.'s headquarters, and the city will be sure to surrender."

"Understood, Lord Robotnik." Heavy King spoke, bowing.

"And finally, Infinite." Robotnik spoke, looking at the masked hound. "If the Resistance gets the upper hand, on my cue, activate the Ruby." He gripped his hand tightly. "Make them regret the day the ever tried to defy me."

Infinite merely nodded. **_"I assure you, doctor."_** He spoke. **_"Should they interfere, the city will fall. And victory will be granted to you."_**

"Excellent." Robotnik spoke. "At least I have someone i can trust to take charge of the situation..."

Zavok grumbled again.

"Now then, you all have your objectives, now get to work and dispatch before any sort of Resistance can interfere with my directives!"

The others would leave the room... except for Chaos, who was still resting its head on the table.

"...that includes you, Chaos." Robotnik spoke, causing the water blob to leave.

Robotnik sighed, getting up from his chair and walking to the computer console in the room, looking at the map screen... odd, he could have sworn there were three Chaos Emerald blips on the radar...

* * *

As the clocked ticked down to the launch of Operation Chicken Choker, tensions were high around the Mobian Resistance force as they flew low under the radar towards Empire City. Aboard Water Division's ship, Whisper was quickly checking in on one of the engines of the ship itself, just making sure they were running smoothly, when her ear twitched. She was hearing something from somewhere on the ship. Pausing her investigation, she would soon follow the sounds she was hearing, soon finding out it was... sobbing? She grew concerned, soon tracing it to...

...Tangle's and her room.

She sighed, opening the door to the room, finding Tangle crying on the bed by herself, slightly shivering from the painful memories. Concerned, Whisper would slowly approach the terrified lemur, slightly reaching a hand out.

"T-Tangle?" Whisper asked, touching the lemur's shoulder.

Tangle froze for a second, then screamed as she leaped away as she cowered. "D-DON'T HURT ME I'M SORRY I SWEAR I'M SORRY!"

"Tangle, please! Calm down!" Whisper said, trying to coax the lemur to calm her nerves. The lemur however would still be shivering and sobbing, quaking from the pain in her memories.

"Shit..." Whisper breathed to herself, before locking the door. She couldn't let the others see Tangle in this state. With it locked now, Whisper would set her Wispon down on one of the cabinets and slip her outer cloak off, hanging it on the nearby coatrack. Taking a deep breath, she slightly sit on the bed before wrapping her arms around the lemur, rubbing small circles on her back. The lemur's shaking would slow down before she returned the hug, wrapping her tail around the two of them.

"I'm sorry..." Tangle sobbed. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"Why?" Whisper spoke.

"I-I nearly killed you..." Tangle choked out. "A-and then... then..." She started sobbing again. "Y-you were right... I'm too stupid and carefree to be in this fucking war!"

Whisper felt a pang of guilt enter her heart. Did... did she cause this to her? Her own friend?

"Why..."

"?" Whisper breathed.

"Why did you save me?"

Whisper's heart felt colder.

"Why didn't you leave me for when that base blew up?"

"Stop."

"Wh-wha-"

"Stop... please." Whisper spoke, hugging Tangle tighter. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why?"

"I was the one who couldn't save you in time..." Whisper spoke. "I couldn't stop that green robot from abducting you... I couldn't find you before they electrocuted you... I... I failed you..."

Tangle hugged the wolf tightly, keeping her tail wrapped around the two. Tangle was still trembling, the pain from the electrocution still prevalent in the girl's frame.

"Wh-whisper..." Tangle spoke.

"Yeah?" The wolf asked.

"Th... thank you." She spoke.

"Wh... what for?" Whisper asked.

"You opened up my eyes to this war..." She spoke. "And I promise... I'll push myself to become a better fighter. Better at everything."

Whisper merely smiled as she hugged the lemur, before an announcement came over the intercom.

 _"EMPIRE CITY, 5000 METERS ENCLOSING TO DROPOFF POINT."_ It called. _"ALL OPERATIVES, PREPARE FOR DISMOUNT."_

"Sounds like that's us." Whisper spoke.

"Let's get going." Tangle replied as the two left the room...

* * *

"Nngggghhh..." The heterochromatic jackal growled as he paced the corridors of the Jackal Squad ship, grumbling and growling to himself as his tail twitched a bit.

"Something on your mind Finn?" A familiar female voice asked.

"What's it matter to you?" Finn growled, looking back at the female jackal, Fiora. "It's none of your business."

"When it's affecting the leader of the squad and the one I love, it becomes part of my business." Fiora countered. "This isn't healthy Finn, you've been like this ever since that failed raid on Eggman's old base. Something's clearly on your mind, now what is it?"

Finn growled, turning to Fiora, crossing his arms. "Aren't you frustrated at what that fat man has done to us?" He spoke. "He destroyed our pride; killed our brethren."

"We move on from it." Fiora spoke.

"We were too weak to save any of them."

"Strength is never the answer sometimes."

"If I hadn't been so weak, that fat fuck would be dead, and we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I wasn't about to risk you getting yourself killed!"

"I NEARLY LOST YOU!" Finn snapped. "How the hell do you think that makes me feel?! That I was too weak to save you from getting hurt by that bastard's machines?!"

"..." Fiora said nothing, just looking at Finn. "Is that what this is all about?"

"You don't think it pains me what happened?" Finn growled.

"Finn..." Fiora spoke. "I can understand. But constantly hurting yourself over that isn't going to help make things better; we can only move on from it as a learning experience."

"..."

"Another thing." Fiora spoke. "I don't want you calling yourself weak because of all this. To me, that kind of mindset isn't healthy at all; it's only going to make things worse."

"..."

"Finn..." Fiora spoke. "Will you at least change for me?"

"...fine." Finn sighed. "I'm sorry for all of this."

"It's fine." Fiora spoke. "I'm just worried about you."

Finn nodded in response as the two headed for the upper deck.

* * *

Explosions rocked across the city skyline as the Egg Fleet and the G.U.N. Air Fleet were engaged in a heavy air war for the city's airspace, building destruction evident around the massive skyscraped skyline as the roadways were on the risk of collapse. Large blue tanks bearing the logo of Eggman would be trudging through the city, letting out massive blasts of smog and the occasional horn blast as the G.U.N. troops and robots engaged in the firefight against the Regime's Badnik army. But needless to say, G.U.N. was losing their ground fast, and any of the Resistance members in the area weren't faring any better as the Knuckles airships were quickly closing in on the city.

"Hmph, a rather underwhelming response for this all, wouldn't you four agree?" Heavy King spoke, looking on from a building top as the other Hard Boiled Heavies were nearby him.

"What do they think six measly airships are gonna do?" Heavy Gunner spoke, getting his bazooka ready. "I could just go ahead and blast 'em outta the sky right now!"

"Not. Yet." Heavy King answered bluntly. "Magician, Rider, Shinobi. Get down there and help our troops."

The other three Heavies would nod before they descended down into the city to cause more chaos. Gunner would keep his bazooka trained on the oncoming airships as the shot charged up.

"Wait..." King said, as the airships got closer, and closer...

"Okay, you can fire now." King said as he lept down from the building. Gunner took the chance as his bazooka fired off several large red rockets straight for the airships, the rockets colliding with them and causing them to lose altitude and start to crash...

"AND ANOTHER DIRECT HIT!" Gunner yelled. "Seriously, I should be in the Robolympics for the firing events at this rate!" His jetpack activated as he took off down into the cityscape to help deal with the chaos...

However, the crews of the Knuckles airships would already eject by the time the rockets had collided with the ships, Water Division landing on the nearby extended highway just as their ship crashed into a nearby building, exploding on contact.

"Well... that was a little too close for comfort." Zeena spoke, radioing in the other groups. "Water Division here, is everyone else okay?"

"Fire division, we're all okay!" Amy said.

"Metal Division, All present and accounted for!" Carol responded.

"Wood Division, we're alive." Aaron spoke.

"Jackal Squad, a little miffed, but we're alive." Finn answered.

"Earth Division, we're all alive and accounted for." Knuckles said. "Looks like they're already expecting us. Everyone keep to the plan! Water Division Whisper, locate that Zeti in the coordinates!"

Whisper nodded, checking her mask before motioning to the others. "Got a hostage signal confirmed. At least 1500 meters due east from here, ground level."

"Well? Let's go!" Silver said, taking off ahead. Whisper sighed as soon she, Zeena, and Tangle took off ahead towards the signal point. Though their rush would be interrupted as soon Heavy Rider has burst from a higher roadway down towards the group.

"And just where do you guys think you're going?!" Rider yelled, charging straight at the four with her mace flailing above her head. Whisper grit her teeth as she slid underneath the mace and Tangle sprang over it with her tail, while the mace soon collided with Zeena's robot snowman head, the two forces cancelling eachother out and knocking the two back from eachother. Zeena growled before using her energy beam and grabbing Jimmy out from underneath Rider, soon whipping around and slamming the modified Motobug back into the purple Eggrobo, knocking the two off of the raised highway. The four would continue their run down the highway as they skidded around the corned before leaping down to lower roadways until they reached ground level, dodging out of the way of the firefight. The amount of Badniks were insane, and it didn't help considering there were G.U.N. troops firing on Zeena without knowing it was not the fake one. The larger tanks were blaring their loud horns as soon Zeena lept up the large vehicle before slamming her fist straight into it, causing it to short circuit before she lept off, the tank detonating.

"Keep moving!" Whisper yelled as Tangle soon slingshot a Motobug straight into a horde of Egg Pawns, bowling a perfect strike.

"We've gotta help thin out the army a little bit!" Tangle yelled. "Otherwise the plan ain't gonna work!"

"Whisper, on your right!" Silver yelled as he soon deflected an oncoming shot with his psychic blast. Whisper growled as she activated rocket mode on her Wispon and fired on the oncoming robot horde.

"Knuckles, is the operation going to be soon underway?" Whisper said through her mask comm.

"We're almost ready to initiate Phase 1!" Knuckles said. "Wood Division, is your position ready?"

* * *

"We're all set." Hanna spoke as Aaron, Rob, and Maria got into position. "Just waiting on your cue."

"Alright, get ready." Knuckles said, counting down in his head. "Three... two... one... alright, Wood Division, go go go!"

That was the cue as Aaron was the first to burst out of the manhole, soon throwing several fireballs at the Badnik horde moving in the opposite direction. "HEY, BUCKETS OF BOLTS! OVER HERE!"

That got the Badnik's attention as the soon started chasing after the lion, Maria popping out of the sewer next. "Aaron's got the robo-baddies on the run! Meanie, Fluff-Tail! We gotta go!"

"Let's show these fuckers how we do it in the Scarves!" Hanna yelled before she burst out of the sewers in a ball of flame, soon tearing through the group of Badniks and catching up with Aaron as Maria and Rob followed suit.

"That's a lot of robo-baddies!" Maria said, looking back.

"You think we'll be able to distract 'em all?" Hanna asked.

"We will with that thing!" Rob said, pointing ahead to one of Eggman's new tanks. Soon enough the rabbit and lion slammed onto the top of the large vehicle, soon trashing the robots inside as Aaron motioned for Hanna and Maria to take cover inside the massive machine.

"Alright, so what the hell are we using this for?" Hanna asked.

"We can use this as cover." Aaron spoke. "Eggman probably didn't equip those clunkers with enough firepower to take out one of his own tanks, so we'll be in the clear as we draw their fire towards the center."

"Well, smart thinking from your parts." Hanna spoke.

"Does anyone wanna call the fisty guy and let him know?" Maria asked.

"I'll radio in." Rob spoke, activating his comm unit. "Knuckles, you in?"

"I'm here, something wrong Wood Division?" Knuckles asked.

"Not right now, but we've got his troops lured." Rob spoke. "We've commandeered one of his tanks for cover as we're making our way towards the center of the city. If the others see a tank being fired on by Eggman's focres, do NOT attack it. That's us."

"Roger that, be careful guys!" Knuckles said as the comm unit cut.

"Well, all we gotta do now is wait..." Aaron said as he leaned back and relaxed.

That was, until Whisper came over the comm unit.

"Everyone, heads up!" She spoke. "Water Division just had a run-in with one of Eggman's HBH unit. The Cyclist one from the looks of it. But keep your guards up! There's no telling when any of the other ones may strike!"

"Roger that." Rob answered. "We'll keep a close eye."

The rest of the ride would be a bit uneventful...

* * *

Meanwhile, over on the West side of the city, things were getting a bit too hectic for Metal Division's tastes as the Badnik hordes were firing on them. Carol's Mech Blade scythe tore through as many of the Badniks as she could before the Badniks started closing in on her.

"Need some backup here!" She yelled, before Classic had slammed into the Badniks around her, sending them flying. Classic would flash a thumbs up before Spindashing off again into more Badniks. Carol smirked before slicing more of the nearby Egg Pawns into shreds, sending more and more scrap metal into the air as Milla's psychic abilities would grab it and use it as her own fodder as she would fire it off machine-gun style at more and more of the Badniks. Salamon was busy carving up the extra stragglers, tossing the scraps to Milla as his own set of Badniks were busy tearing up the other ones at the same time. Cyclone was also playing her part as she teamed up with Tails and performed a twirling Dragon Boost into another tenpin setup of Badniks.

Milla smirked. "We're Keeping them on the ropes!"

"I think my little robot posse is helping keep the numbers up!" Salamon said as he looked over to see his Crabmeat dispatch another set of Badniks, the miniguns whirling inside the craws. "Crawford was an excellent addition to the group!"

"Don't let your guard down!" Cyclone said, dispatching another Egg Pawn.

At that point Milla's ears would perk up, her eyes widening.

"Oh no..." She spoke.

"What's wrong Milla?" Carol asked, looking away from her Badnik shredding.

"He's here!" Milla spoke, looking back to Carol. "I'll distract him so he can't interrupt the operation! Keep ahold of it!" She said as she soon sprinted off in an unknown location towards the heart of the city.

"Milla, stop, wait!" Salamon yelled, but it was already too late; Milla was out of earshot. "Shit!" He cursed to himself, before looking to his trio of bots. "Keep up the pressure on holding them off, I'm going after Milla!" He said as the trio of Badniks nodded, continuing their rampage as Salamon took off after the basset hound.

"Welp, there goes those two." Carol said as she finished her Badniks off. "That's not good..."

"Shit." Cyclone said, gripping her fists. "We'll need to cover for their loss." At that point their group's comms would activate.

"Metal Division! Fire Division! Get your rears in gear, the Tank distraction by Wood Division is en route towards the center of the city and the forces are falling for it!" Knuckles' voice rang over the comm unit.

"Roger that, we're in pursuit!" Cyclone said over the comm as she looked over to the rest of the group. "Tank's coming in guys! Let's start that pressure!" The others nodded before the group would start the rush towards the center of the city, soon seeing the tank on the main route, Fire Division's Omega already opening up the pressure with his miniguns as Gemerl would begin his Break-Dashes above the Badnik forces, soon unleashing several missiles from the dashes as they rained down on the Badniks themselves.

 **"SHOWOFF."** Omega droned as he kept his fire up on the Badniks, pushing them towards the center.

"Nothing wrong with a little flair is there?" Gemerl shot back.

"Can we please not have this argument now?" Cream asked as she kept using her blaster cannon in her mechanical arm as she fired the spinning Cheese as a projectile as she helped keep up the pressure.

"You guys look like you could use some help!" Carol said, twirling her scythe. "Here, allow ME!" She said, soon whirling her scythe as a slew of scrap metal was heaved into the air. "Just keep pushing boys! We'll get 'em towards the city center one way or another!"

"RIGHT!" The others yelled as they kept up the push towards the center of the city...

* * *

The wolf would skid across the highway as she lept off onto the next one as her Division continued towards the coordinates on Whisper's mask. It was less than 100 feet when Tangle had noticed the robots on one of the lower routes moving away from the building they were closing in on.

"Looks like the plan is working guys!" Tangle said. "They're swarming straight at the choke point!"

"Excellent." Zeena spoke. "That should give us some time to break out whoever this is." Soon enough the four would skid to a halt in front of the building as Whisper activated the spikes module on her Wispon before slicing through the door, the four making a break for the lower floors of the building. Skidding around one of the corners, Silver unleashed a psychic blast as he knocked debris away from the corridor, allowing the group to continue, noticing the building was eerily silent.

"Odd... you'd think there'd be more of the Badniks down in this lower area..." Silver spoke. "Where is everything?"

"Seems abandoned..." Whisper spoke. "Makes sense; no one would to think to look for a hostage here."

"The Zeti must be in one of these rooms..." Tangle spoke, before noticing a large metal door further down the hall, a large yellow metallic moon deactivated on the ground next to it. "That must be it up ahead."

"!" Zeena gasped. "I recognize that metal moon... that's Zazz's!" She would rush over and bang on the metal door. "Zazz! Are you alright?!"

"...oh great." The voice, a bit hoarse and gravely from the other side said. "First I get captured and locked up, now I'm hallucinatin' voices are speakin' to me."

"Zazz, come on, it's me, Zeena!" The green female Zeti said.

"An' how do I know you're not one of those faker guys?" The voice said.

"C'mon, ask me anything!" Zeena said. "Ask me what you'd know I'd know!"

"...then what's your cup size?" The voice asked.

Tangle could've sworn if Zeena's face was any redder, she'd be confused for Zavok.

"ZAZZ!" She screamed, clearly embarrassed from the question. The other three couldn't help but let out a couple of snickers from the question. "Come on, not in front of other Resistance members! Can't you ask something else?!"

"...then what's my usual line of threaten?" The voice said. This one Zeena knew.

"You're going home in a box!" Zeena responded.

Silence for a moment or two. Then, a small chuckling sound came from the other side of the door.

"Well, looks like it actually is you this time." The voice spoke. "Got any plans to get me out of this thing? It ain't budging to my claws."

"Hold still." Whisper said as she switched her Wispon into rocket mode, taking aim at the door. "Silver, get ready."

"Right!" Silver said, getting his psychokinesis ready. Whisper would open fire as she fired several rockets, each one being caught by Silver's psychokinesis until there were about seventeen rockets being held up at the same time in front of the metal door.

"NOW!" Whisper yelled as Silver released his grip, sending the rockets crashing straight into the door simultaneously, blowing the door wide open as smoke filled the room and hall, the group coughing hoarsely as the smoke cleared. Coughing a bit, Zeena would rush in to find the pink colored purple mowhawked Zeti sitting against the back wall, also wearing a ripped sleeve leather jacket.

"Oh my god thank goodness you're alive..." Zeena said, hugging the Zeti.

"Heh, well you certainly had quite the change." Zazz said, getting up. "Where in the world are we anyways?"

"Empire City." Silver spoke. "Our Resistance is currently trying to overtake Eggman's forces here so we can get an upper hand in this war!"

"Well..." Zazz spoke. "How about I help add a little wanton destruction to the menu? Think it's only fair for what those robot asses did to us."

"Sounds fine to me." Zeena said as the group exited the room, Zazz grabbing the metal moon right outside of it.

"Uhhh..." Tangle spoke, but Zeena shushed her.

"It's his, don't worry." The female Zeti responded as the five rushed out, Zazz running with the massive metal moon over his shoulders. The five would rush out of the abandoned building as Whisper set fire to the foundation, causing it to collapse onto more of the regime's Badnik army. Catching up, the five would head for the center of the city...

* * *

"We're closing in!" Knuckles' voice rang over the comm units as Earth Division closed in to help with the final push, seeing the hordes of robots getting ripped to shreds from all sides by both the Resistance and the G.U.N. forces as they closed in on the central tower. "We've almost got them all down, keep the pressure up!"

The other members of the Resistance were keeping the pressure up as the gunfire flew from all sides, the Badnik army numbers being depleted more and more the closer they closed in on the tower...

"Such insolence!" Robotnik's voice yelled over a city-wide intercom announcement. "What does this rabble think it can do with an all-out pincer attack? They won't live long once I have them finished off before any more damage can happen!"

Carol grit her teeth as Metal Division continued their push on the Badnik army, aided by the jackals as more scrap metal flew into the air. But at this point she was starting to get concerned; Milla and Salamon hadn't gotten back in so long since they went after that mysterious signal. Where did they go? It's like they just dropped off the face of the planet!

The wildcat grit her teeth as she continued carving up the scrap metal of the Badniks, making sure not to hit Salamon's by accident. "I've got a bad feeling about where those two are..."

"INFINITE!" Robotnik's voice bellowed across the city as the hound soon materialized above the main city, catching the entire Resistance and G.U.N. off guard. "ACTIVATE THE PHANTOM RUBY! LET THEM PLAY IN RUBY HELL!"

Nearly everyone froze as the sickening sounds of distortion activated, the entire area coated in the Ruby's magenta-red light as soon the battle was plunged straight into chaos, gravity going out of control as all forces were thrown out of control, sent sprawling everywhere from the now random gravity directions pulling from multiple places.

"Everyone, remain calm!" Knuckles said over the comm unit.

"It's no use, our forces are scattered blind in the confusion!" Silver answered as the Badniks started to overtake the G.U.N. forces, gunning them down much more frequently than before the Ruby had activated. As if it wasn't enough, soon large snake-like creatures in Infinite's appearence started to burst from the ground, the long liquidy black bodies capped off with an organic mask-like protrusion from the top, some of them splitting open to reveal some sort of cosmic-horror mouth as they fired lasers on the city from the gaping maws, slicing through skyscrapers as their giant liquidy paws extended from the ground to destroy the bridging roadways.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE THINGS?!" Hanna yelled, attempting to throw fire at the gigantic Infinite clone creatures, but proving fruitless. More and more of the cratures screeched as they opened fire on the G.U.N. Air Fleet, starting to blast the ships out of the sky. Panicked sounds of G.U.N. troops come over the intercoms as the airships plummet out of the sky, crashing into the city itself.

"Eagle Squad, coming in!" A panicked G.U.N. troop's voice came over the comm. "Enemy crossfire is growing heavier! We can't evacuate- GAAAGH!" The comm cut out.

"Snake Squad needs backup, stat!" Another G.U.N. troop on the comm said.

"This is Fox Squad!" A third troop's voice yelled. "We can't hold this up any longer!"

"Knuckles, we're in a full-blown panic right now!" Amy yelled over the comm unit as she continued to defend herself from the Badniks swarming her, seemingly growing in number by the dozens. "Eighty percent of our forces have been wiped out, and we've lost contact with the rest!"

"One flip of the Phantom Ruby switch and just about everything falls apart!" Vector commented as his jaws soon crunched onto an unsuspecting Egg Pawn. "Infinite's got us in a checkmate situation with us being surrounded by nothing but queens!"

"Just hold out!" Knuckles yelled as he and Shade pulled a combo attack on the group of Pawns in front of them.

"I don't know if we can for much longer!" Rouge answered.

"Shit..." Knuckles growled; this was one situation they may not be able to dig out of...

* * *

It wasn't long before the masked hound rematerialized on a roadway high above the city, looking down at the carnage unfolding. An evil glint was in his eye as he looked down, seeing the Resistance of Mobius starting to become cornered. _**"Even that runt's partners seem to have given up... Disappointing, really. I would have appreciated it if someone with a backbone had decided to drop in and offer a proper challenge..."**_

"INFINITE!" Milla growled, soon coming to a stop as she summoned her cubes in her hands, glaring daggers at the Ruby-infused hound, Salamon not far behind her as he comes to a stop, a bit more timidly intimidated by Infinite's presence.

 ** _"Hmph... did you two come from that unlucky cannon fodder lot? Or did you somehow lose your way?"_** The hound spoke, not even turning to acknowledge their existence.

"Shut. Up." Milla growled, her fur bristling. "I have a score to settle with you after your stunt you pulled back in Mystic Jungle!"

 _ **"Amusing, really, thinking you have something you owe me."**_ Infinite spoke, finally turning to see the two dogs. **_"And I see you brought your future boyfriend Salamon as well. He must be expecting an early funeral."_**

Salamon's eyes widened. "H-how does he know my name?!" He panic-whispered, before Infinite had almost warp-dashed right up next to him, catching both dogs off-guard as he continued to speak.

 _ **"Child, I know many things about you and the others, more than you would like to know."**_ Infinite spoke, his tone dark.

"G-get away from him!" Milla barked, receiving merely a dark chuckle from the older hound.

 _ **"And yet again there's that smell of fear."**_ Infinite spoke. _**"Now then... you're clearly wanting to pick into something you can't comprehend. Will you fight and die here? Or will you run away to be tortured to death later once the troops eliminate the rest of your puny fleet? Choose your preferred option."**_

Salamon seemed to be intimidated a bit by the situation, but Milla stepped in front of him, arms outstretched as if to protect him. "You leave him out of this! This is between you and me!"

"Milla..." Salamon said before Infinite looked at her.

 ** _"Very well..."_** Infinite growled, rising up. **_"I will teach you about true fear. Then will come the pain when I break you like the insignificant twig you are. Although, after that..."_** He chuckled darkly, the area around the three starting to distort as he warped them to the inside of the top of one of the skyscrapers, getting a clear view of the fight going on below and the airship battle above. _**"...you two won't be feeling anything for a long time."**_

Milla grit her teeth as Infinite would start to warp around this upper area, snaking blocks of red phantom cubes starting to home in on her location. Gritting her teeth, she'd attempt to dodge out of the way of one of the firing shots before another would collide with her, her vision going red as cannons started to materialize on the walls and floos, taking aim for her. The basset reacted fast and quickly threw up her Phantom Shield for protection as she attempted to block the oncoming projectiles from these new cannons, but she knew she couldn't defend forever...

...that was, before the red vision faded, a growl of annoyance heard loudly coming from Infinite. Milla would look over to see what had happened, and her jaw dropped as she saw Salamon had tried to attack the hound itself! The basset started to grow worried as Infinite spoke again.

 _ **"Oooh, so that's the game you want to play, now is it?"**_ Infinite growled, a hint of acid in his tone. _**"Well then, I can accommodate for you and your insolence."**_ Soon enough more of the red cubes were being spawned and thrown at Salamon. The husky tried to put in a good dodging fight but was soon hit by one of the cubes square in the back, thrown into his own personal Ruby Hell as the cannons materialized, opening fire on the husky. The boy tried to put in a good shield to defend himself, but after a few cannon shots the shield itself would break, colliding directly with the husky and slamming him into the back wall, causing him to faceplant. Milla made a mad dash as Infinite was about ready to finish him off, but the basset's Murder Sphere blasted Infinite back, stunning him a bit as the basset helped the husky to his feet.

"You alright?" Milla asked.

"I-I think so..." Salamon panted as the two looked at Infinite. The hound would be charging up for another attack as Salamon soon got off to the sidelines as Milla took control of the situation, Infinite going back on the offense again as he opened fire with his red cubes. Milla growled and dodge-rolled out of the way of them before Infinite would cloak himself in the Ruby's energy, soon charging straight for where she was. The basset grit her teeth as she rolled to the side, out of the way as she soon charged up a new tactic she had devised; an Elemental Shield Burst, this one being Metal element as she unleashed it point-blank right at Infinite's face. The hound growled in anger as he batted Milla away, Salamon rushing in to fill her place in the fight.

At this point Infinite himself was starting to get seriously annoyed by the two dogs making a monkey out of him. Growling, he'd spawn in some more cubes to launch at the husky while doors materialized on the walls, Egg Pawns starting to trudge into the room. Salamon grits his teeth as he brings out his electric whip, ready to slash into them... before Infinite would psychically grab his whip and pull it away, crushing it in his hand and merely waggle a finger at him. Growling, Salamon would unleash his phantom claws from his bracelets and try to slice through the Egg Pawns... without even seeing the cubes forming from underneath his feet.

"Salamon! Watch out!" Milla yelled to the husky. Salamon immediately took notice as the cubes burst up through the floor, before Infinite attempted to go for another Ruby energy charge right for him. Salamon froze up a bit as Infinite came barreling at him, but he shook the fear off as he soon lept over him, colliding his claws straight into the top of Infinite's head, starting to crack the mask.

 _ **"Nnngh..."**_ Infinite growled, floating a bit away, the Phantom Ruby starting to overclock as a fiery magenta-red aura surrounded the masked hound. _**"So behind all that fear lies a spark of defiance... well, we'll just see how long that spark lasts..."**_ Soon enough more red cubes spawned as they started forming wave patterns, coming straight for the husky. Salamon attempted to leap over the waves, but that would prove fruitless as he collided with one, thrown back into Ruby Hell as this time large missile silos appeared on the far side of the room, the missile far too big for Salamon to reasonable dodge out of the way...

Then Milla struck, throwing the Ruby Hell off and causing the missile to disappear before it fired. Infinite growled before he soon attacked Milla, more of his cubes primed now for Shield Bursts as Milla countered with her own, throwing Infinite back against the wall. Infinite growled before unleashing several cyclones of the red cubes straight for Milla, fully intending on ending the fight with her right then and there. Salamon would counter while the hound was distracted and slash with his phantom claws right into the hound's back, shredding through his cloak and causing him to lose focus as he whirled around in annoyance to face the brat. However, Salamon was merely baiting as Milla son unleashed a Super Shield Burst right to the back of his head, throwing him across the room and the mask off his face.

Milla landed back on the ground, the small Ruby prototype she snuck with her on the mission falling out onto the ground next to her as Salamon soon came over to her side for assistance. The two of them remained tense as Infinite started to get up.

 _ **"I remembered..."**_ He spoke, not quite turning to the two just yet, leaving his face hidden. Milla would look down and grab the Ruby prototype she had, gritting her teeth as she looked at Infinite, glaring daggers. _**"You're the girl I let go at the time back in the jungle... and to think you'd go out of your way to throw away the life I spared you from our first encounter..."**_

"You think I wouldn't-" Milla started before she was interrupted by Infinite.

 _ **"-want to get even?"**_ Infinite spoke again. _**"But of course. After all..."**_ By that point the unmasked Infinite had turned around, revealing his true face to the two.

Both of them could not believe their eyes as they appear to see what looks like a much more scarred and masculine face akin to Milla's.

 _ **"It's part of our bloodline, Milla."**_

At that point Milla's entire world came crashing down to a catastrophic halt, her eyes wide as saucers and her muscles paralyzed from the shock of what she was seeing in front of her. No... this couldn't be... th-this was impossible! This couldn't be an effect of the Phantom Ruby, could it?! There was no way-

 _ **"That I could be related to you?"**_ Infinite spoke, soon having the Phantom Ruby charge again. _**"I assure you, stupid runt, this is no illusion; what you lay your eyes on is very much real."**_ The two would then be caught off guard as Infinite would activate the Phantom Ruby, plunging the two back into Ruby hell as several dozen cannons now pointed directly at the two. _**However, this is the last of what I will allow you to know. Now be like your runt of your friends of the wildcat and the dragon, and**_ **die. _"_** The cannons would soon fire, and with the amount of them, there would almost be no way of dodging all of the simultaneously. Milla gripped to the Ruby prototype hard, closing her eyes and preparing for the worst... when the prototype for the Ruby activated, temporarily pulling her and Salamon out of Ruby Hell as the cannon shots pass through them harmlessly and exploding on the ground before the two were plunged back into the red vision.

Infinite is taken aback by this. For the first time, he actually expresses shock at what he has seen unfold in front of him. _**"Wh-what?! Did you just... no, you couldn't have! That should be impossible!"**_

Milla grits her teeth, summoning a Phantom Sphere and chucking it at one of the cannons, soon causing a chain reaction explosion across the cannons to distract the hound as Milla went for the offensive, soon trying to attack Infinite head-on. This would ultimately end in failure as Infinite would blast Milla back into Salamon, ending the Ruby Hell as he went to reclaim his mask... and his composure.

 _ **"No matter..."**_ He spoke, a hint of acid in his tone this time as he picks up the mask, placing it back onto his face before looking back at the collapsed dogs. _**"At any rate, you've only got a few days left before I plunge this world into an eternal hell. Entertain me if you wish with this petty resistance; it won't matter in the end for you at that point."**_ And that was the last thing Infinite had said as he soon warped out of the area, leaving the two dogs to themselves.

"M-Milla, are you alright?" Salamon asked, trying to help the basset to her feet.

"Y-yeah... I'm fine." Milla spoke, which wasn't a total lie. She was just going through some very hard disbelief right now.

But soon both their rails of thought were derailed as Knuckles came in through the intercom.

"They have us surrounded! I don't know how much longer we can last as this!"

The two booked it for the echidna's location like nothing else.

* * *

"Knuckles!" Tails yelled, pretty much everyone of the Mobius Resistance base stacked up against the choke point as they desperately tried to take out more and more of the robots. "I'm not sure we're going to last much longer like this!"

"We can't retreat!" Carol yelled. "They've cut off all the choke points! And more and more of them just keep coming!"

 **"MY AMMO RESERVES ARE RUNNING DRY."** Omega droned. **"THERE'S NO WAY I CAN KEEP THIS FIRING UP."**

Knuckles grit his teeth as soon Salamon and Milla dropped from above to help, catching him off guard.

"Where the hell were you guys?!" Carol yelled.

"We had a run in with Infinite, now's not a good time to explain!" Milla responded bluntly as she tried to keep the pressure up, to no avail. The Badniks were outnumbering the Resistance members by nearly 2000 to 1, and that number only kept rising and rising for every Badnik destroyed.

Shadow cursed. "Damnit, everyone get into as tight a group as you can!" Shadow yelled, the Resistance members soon packing in almost like cattle in a cow ranch as Shadow got on top of them, soon pulling out one of the Chaos Emeralds he had gotten from the Resistance base and gripping tightly to it. "CHAOS CONTROL!" He yelled as everyone was enveloped in a harsh light... and just like that, every Resistance member of the base was gone...

Operation Chicken Choker had ended in a smoldering and casualty-riddled failure.

Empire City... was lost.

* * *

Tensions back at the base after Shadow managed to pull off that last-second save were high, to say the least, with morale as low as it had been since the start of the war. Others were exhausted from the amount of energy they put through the operation, some retiring to bed early to try and regain lost sleep time.

Knuckles seemed to take the loss the hardest though; he was actively silent, not even wanting to talk to anyone even though those who tried to talk to him had told him that the operation's failure wasn't fully his fault; no one could have predicted the Phantom Ruby doing something as insane as what it did on the operation. No one. And yet Knuckles still felt like the complete collapse of both the Resistance and of G.U.N. were his fault.

Things didn't seem all too bad however; Zazz seemed to make himself right at home among the Resistance members that were already there. Heck, some even got a chuckle out of his odd sense of humor. And if anything, Zeena was finally getting some hope she'd be reunited with the rest of her friends soon enough.

But with Empire City's defense a complete catastrophic failure, the Resistance would need to lay low for a while before they would try anything else again...

* * *

 **A reunited Zeti, a basset with a horrid encounter, and now a major metropolitan city lost to the mad doctor's rule; there's not a lot of things to be too happy about around the Resistance base of Mobius right now. Chances are it's going to be a rather restless night tonight... especially for one specific kitsune. How is he going to fare in all of this? And what of Sonic and Sash? How might they be faring in Null Space for these past months? Tune in next time for Chapter 20: "Nothing Left to Regret"...**


	21. Chapter 20: Nothing Left To Lose

_**...**_

 _ **Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Intermission 3  
**_

 _Chapter 20: Nothing Left to Regret_

* * *

"..."

"...so how long have we been in here for now?"

"...I think I lost count."

This was almost the status quo for the discussion back and forth between the hedgehog and the dragon for the past six months as they spent their time inside the vacuum of Null Space, nothing happening of interest as the two continued their indefinite sentence at the hands of Infinite. Truly had Infinite wanted to truly drive them insane, he'd have separated them entirely before sentencing them to this endless prison.

That was his mistake; the two of them together kept their sanity intact... for the most part. Isolation would have definitely broken them, but together, there was still a small spark of hope they had.

Albeit it was very, very small...

Both Sonic and Sash were lying face up, head to head as they stared up into the void-like sky, seeing the floating cubes and arcs of electricity flowing by above them. Both of them definitely seemed worse for wear after spending nearly six months in an endless void. Oddly enough, this prison never required them to actually eat; the two never actually grew hungry over their stay in the eternal void. Though as for other aspects... things were not exactly too hot. Both the hedgehog and dragon had heavy bags under their eyes, exhausted from a lack of sleep and equal nightmares on both sides of that hound... and possibly on what was going on back in their world...

Both their outfits were definitely worn and old at this point; Sonic's old glasses had cracks in the lenses, his jacket was definitely old and dusty, a few tears across it entirely, one of his pant legs torn and his shoes worn down from his running he's done inside this eternal prison. His fingerless gloves were nothing but shreds now, next to completely useless as he stared off into the space above. Sash's outfit wasn't any better; her scarf was basically the only thing that was undamaged. The zipper on her vest was completely broken, the vest itself torn a bit as she laid on the ground with it open face, her black bra in clear view. Her shorts were frayed, the dark red sash around her waist completely shredded and the cord looking like it'd snap any second, Her right glove was completely gone, the bracelet cracked and destroyed around her wrist, her other glove having the fingers of the fabric ripped off. Her boots were definitely worn, the gold wings on either side cracked and dull.

"So... what do you wanna do now?" Sonic asked, looking up at Sash.

"Well..." Sash sighed, looking into the void-like sky. "What did you have in mind?"

"You wanna do another sparring session?" Sonic asked.

"We did that about an hour ago... at least I think an hour..." Sash responded.

"Race?"

"We don't have a discernible end point we could use for a finish line."

"Something a bit more... intimate?"

"We've done every position I could think of, and I think I'm wanting to give my parts a bit of a rest. Our last session had my climax a little more pleasurable than I was expecting to, so I wanna rest from that for a bit."

"Alright..." Sonic said, looking back into the sky. Silence would permeate the area for a bit before a question came to the hedgehog.

"So..." He asked. "What made your parents decide on the name Sash?" Sonic asked.

"Hmm?" Sash asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well... your name." Sonic spoke, looking back into the voided sky. "I mean, not dissing it, it's a very beautiful name, but... is there any specific reason as to why Sash?"

"Well..." Sash spoke, looking up into the sky with him. "To be truthful, my parents weren't originally intending on the name Sash."

"Oh?"

"In truth, my name was a byproduct of the fact that as a young girl, I couldn't pronounce the name 'Sasha'. That was originally intended to be my name, but when I was young, I could never get the A at the end of the name Sasha. When I turned about three or so, my mother took me to get my name legally shortened to Sash. And the rest, well, is history..."

"Huh..." Sonic said, looking back up at the sky.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Your name." Sash asked. "I'm curious... did your parents actually name you Sonic?"

"..." Sonic was silent for a bit.

"Well?" Sash asked.

"...Nicholas."

"Huh?"

"My actual name is Nicholas." Sonic spoke, blushing a bit as he looked away. "I know, I know, it's a stupid name..."

Sash giggled. "I don't think it's stupid..."

"...you don't?" Sonic asked.

"I think it's a very nice name." Sash spoke. "I don't understand why you didn't like it."

"It's not that I don't like it..." Sonic spoke. "I just got too caught up from saving South Island that first time that I basically established the name 'Sonic' as, well... me."

Sash giggled. "Well, I think it's a wonderful name." She spoke, looking up into the void-like sky.

Silence for a while longer...

Then an idea came to Sash.

"Hey... you went fast to travel through time, right?" Sash asked, looking over to the hedgehog.

"Yeah?" Sonic asked.

"I might have an idea..." Sash spoke, getting up. "If we can manage to propel ourselves fast enough... you think we might be able to burst through the gap between this place and the real world?"

Sonic got up. "Well... that'd require us to try going really fast... I'm not sure if either of our Boosts would do it..."

"Well... what if we combined our boosts?" Sash asked. "A... a Double Boost!"

"Double... Boost..." Sonic smiled. "Sash, I like where this is going."

"Then let's do it together, shall we?" Sash said as the hedgehog got next to her. Sash smirked as her chargers started to glow, both she and Sonic started to form a Super Peel-Out. Feeling the energy build up, soon enough the dust cloud kicked up behind them was massive as the two of them started to glow blue from the charged energy... and then the high five and the locking of hands came as the two were ready.

"DOUBLE _BOOST!_ " The two of them yelled as they took off at a blinding speed, shattering the sound barrier in a fraction of a second as the two would speed off ahead, the platforms below them forming faster than light as as they barreled onwards.

"Sonic!" Sash yelled, looking ahead as the Null Space started to glitch out. "I-I think it's working! The prison is failing!"

"Keep it up!" Sonic yelled as the two tried to continue the Double Boost... only for Sash's chargers to falter, the Double Boost being cut short as the two went into a sprawling dogpile as they collapsed into a pile on the floor, dazed and dizzy.

"Oooohhh..." Sash moaned, her eyes swirling from the sudden stop and crash.

"Ooof..." Sonic moaned. "Did... did we do it?" He asked.

Sash shook her head, trying to get her dizzy out. "I don't think so... but we definitely did some damage to the place..."

Sonic would sit up, shaking his head to get the daze out of him as he looked around, seeing the glitchy distortions of Null Space peaking through at the real world, and Sonic would recognize the location...

 _Spring Yard._

"That must be how it works!" Sonic said, getting to his feet.

"How what works?" Sash asked, getting up.

"This Null Space prison must be a parallel world overlapping with both Mobius and Avalice." Sonic said. "That means everything here has the same layout as the main world... but there's no objects or other entities here; it's purely the world layout!"

"And if we can see what out world looks like..." Sash spoke. "If we can find the others, we might be able to find a way to get back home!"

Sonic smirked. "If the distortion stays like this, let's try to find the others!"

Sash nodded in response as the two would head off in search of their parallel prison's Resistance base...

* * *

The basset was exhausted, her eyes drooping a fair amount as she looked up through her skylight, seeing the glow of the night moon above her as it shone down through the hole. Today was a long, tiring, and mentally straining day for her and for the rest of the Resistance that day, with the failed capture on Empire City. She looked up at the moon, the lunar light engulfing her body. Her mind was shaking as she reflected back on that face... that face of Infinite she saw... that looked like hers.

She shook her head. Maybe the Ruby was making her hallucinate? There couldn't have been any other feasible way...

Footsteps would be heard as soon Salamon would enter into the room. "Hey, uh... can I come in?" He asked, a bit of waryness in his tone.

"...I guess..." Milla spoke, looking up at the sky to the moon.

Salamon would awkwardly enter, sitting down next to the prone Milla as he tried to think of something to discuss. "So... are you alright?"

Milla sighed, a small tear falling from her eye. "I... honestly wish I could say I was." She spoke, still looking at the moon.

"Wh... what's wrong?" Salamon asked. The look on his face showed a fair amount of concern.

"...that hound." Milla spoke. "That face..."

"...you mean what Infinite was?" Salamon asked. "I mean, maybe he was just try to-"

"He wasn't trying to scare me." Milla spoke, cutting him off.

"Huh?" Salamon asked. "What do you mean?"

"He was sending a message." Milla spoke. "A message specifically to me."

"...what do you mean by that?" Salamon pressed, his curiousity getting the better of him.

"...do you have some time?" Milla asked.

"Yeah?" Salamon responded.

"Lie down next to me." Milla spoke. "This is a long one." Salamon would nod, lying down next to Milla as the two looked out the skylight hole at the shining moon above.

"...the moon out is beautiful, isn't it?" Salamon asked.

"Yes... it is." Milla spoke. "And its where the explanation begins. Long ago in Avalice's history was a tragic war event that has been recorded in the history books, one's I've studied in Shang Tu's royal record hall. A being of power and destruction from a race descended from the heavens above to make off with the power of the moons, wanting to completely strip-mine it of any and all its lunar resources until its was next to worthless to them. With it torn to shreds, they would leave the planet to a doomed fate from either a collapse from the tides or the leftover useless chunk crashing into the planet itself, kicking off a Class K extinction event and making the planet uninhabitable. It was a class of terror unrelated to anyone had encountered before... and Avalice was next on this being's list for claiming and destruction. We wouldn't be here today... if it wasn't for the actions of two brave souls."

"Who were they?" Salamon asked.

"The one was already a native to the planet, dark green in fur and even darker in accents, a sharp tongue and a blade able to morph by the power of the gods. One would assume to be an ordinary wildcat was actually one of the deadliest foes to encounter on the face of Avalice. The other was a lavender dragon of the stars, a voice of the ocean and just as devastating in her own power. Descended from another world to protect her new home... The dragon was known as Kim; the wildcat as Bail."

"How did they win?"

"I'm still not sure myself; the manuscripts were rather vague with the details themselves of the battle..." Milla spoke. "But from what I read, despite the two's bickering with eachother, they knew they needed to work together to push back this threat; otherwise Avalice would be forfeit. The mastermind had the power to warp the dimensions to his will; whatever he summoned or created, it would be in his favor, doing everything in his power to kill those who stood in his way of his resource gathering."

"...who was this mastermind?" Salamon asked, starting to grow uncomfortable.

"...his name was Tiangou." Milla spoke. "His kind is now long gone from the stars... except for a lingering thread..."

"..."

"And that thread, as I've now found out..." Milla spoke. "Is me."

"Wh-what?"

"My entire species, Salamon." Milla spoke. "The Basset Hounds are not native to Avalice... After Tiangou's death, the rest of the Bassets that came to Avalice in help of his rule were stranded... including his wife."

"But... how does that relate to what happened with Infinite today?" Salamon asked.

"Salamon..." Milla spoke, her voice cracking a bit. "That wasn't Infinite. That was Tiangou."

Silence. Long, hard silence.

"Wait... I thought you said..."

"That he died?" Milla spoke. "He reincarnated himself through the Phantom Ruby... and now he's out for his revenge."

"The Ruby?"

"Is his way of warping the dimensions to his needs, and why he's able to completely twist and warp reality to his liking..." Milla spoke.

"Then... how does he recognize you?" Salamon spoke.

"...because I'm his descendant." Milla spoke.

Another long hard silence.

"...Salamon?"

"Yeah Mil-"

Salamon's voice was cut off as Milla's lips met his. The dog was taken aback by this; he wasn't expecting a kiss like this! He shuddered before his muscles relaxed, letting Milla kiss him before their lips broke, panting a bit.

"Thank you..." She spoke, hugging the dog... before she heard something sounding like pulsating...

"What's that sound?" Salamon asked, his lop ears twitching a bit. Milla would recognize the sound and pull out her Ruby prototype, noticing it pulsating...

"Huh?" Milla breathed herself, staring at the gem... before soon the two heard something else...

"-ey! He-o? A-on-? C- -ou h-ar u-?"

Milla tensed up. That voice... she recognized that voice!

"Sash?!" Milla yelled, looking around frantically for the source of the voice. "SASH?!"

Salamon sweatdropped, scooting away a bit as Milla still frantically looked around. Milla would hold up the ruby, eyes darting around...

...before soon seeing the two figures materializing out of the ruby mist, rather glitchy and pixelated, but Milla could clearly see who it was...

It was Sonic and Sash. Magenta-tinted and glitching as if it was a failing hologram, but they were there.

* * *

That next morning was a group meeting between Milla, Amy, Tails, Carol, and the glitching out Sonic and Sash, who were being projected from their Null Space prison thanks to Milla's ruby prototype she had. Amy paced back and forth, thinking to herself as Milla explained.

"...and that's up to the current situation we have." Milla spoke to Amy. "With that in mind, we need to start our search to spread between both planets and find more of the Ruby prototypes. If we can get enough... I might be able to rip open into Null Space and save them."

"It's definitely a risk we need to take." Amy said, setting her hands on the main table. "I'm a little concerned though if we'll spread our forces too thin."

"We can handle a good chunk of the stuff on Avalice." Tails spoke. "I need to head there anyways with Carol so we can start picking up if there were other Ruby prototypes Infinite might have missed. Not to mention the fact that Shang Tu is still in severe capture and the Death Egg is still extremely operational at this point; that thing needs shut down before we attempt anything; we don't know what Project ICARUS is, but chances are it involves the Death Egg."

"W-ll? I don'- have a pr-blem with y-u guys he-din- out and taking -ut that h-nk of -et-l." Sonic's voice spoke from across the Null Space projection.

"S-me." Sash spoke. "-ggm-n's a-tions h-e gone o- for f-r t-o lon-."

Tails nodded to the two projections. "Don't worry guys..." He spoke. "We'll get you back. I promise."

Both the projections of Sonic and Sash smiled before they faded entirely, Milla's Ruby losing its glow.

"Alright, we'll need to start working out what we need our other team members to do." Tails spoke. "Zeena and Zazz should definitely be on their point of relegating to regaining their lost allies; thankfully we've got a few locations to track down so we can regain their positioning. There's at least two more of them on each planet, and since we're headed to Avalice, we'll look for the two left there while Zeena and Zazz look for the two still here on Mobius. And then we still have two more Chaos Emeralds left to track down, as well as dealing with the last of Eggman's other high-ranking generals across the planet."

"You sure Natalya's gonna be okay with this?" Amy asked, looking concerned as Tails fired up the teleporter.

"We're combined Resistances. We'll be fine." Carol spoke. "All we gotta do is get the info and start tracking down those other prototypes... speaking of tracking, where'd Classic and Cyclone go?"

"We got readngs out from Red Gate Bridge in Station Square, we sent them out to investigate." Amy spoke.

Carol merely nodded. "Alright. We'll head over to Avalice now and get things sorted out." She spoke, looking over to Milla. "Yo, Ruff Stuff, you and your boyfriend coming over?"

Milla was taken aback at first, but then nodded. "Y-yeah, we'll be over shortly." She spoke as Carol stepped into the teleporter to the Avalician base...

* * *

 **Truths have been revealed, and the stakes have raised to dangerously high levels. Will Sonic and Sash be able to get out of Null Space from the Resistance's efforts? Or will their attempts be all for naught? And where are the two small ones running around out at Red Gate Bridge? Find out next chapter in Chapter 21: "Metal Madness"...**


	22. Chapter 21: Metal Madness

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 4  
_**

 _Chapter 21: Metal_ _Madness_

* * *

The ruins of the bridge swayed ever so lightly in the wind as the sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon of the ocean, casting its morning glow across the island and ruined city. The droning of the bomb sirens would still be going on above the city as the smoke arose from the rubble, scraps of robots and blood splatters occasionally marring the terrain. Skidding around the corner, Cyclone would grip onto a broken light pole as she flung herself through a hole in the rubble, bursting through to the other side as she skid to a stop on top of an abandoned building, looking out over the ruined cityskape, the smoke rising as she looked out to the massive red steel bridge connecting between the two halves of the island.

Cyclone merely breathed. "Damn..." She spoke, looking out over the ruined city. "Not even a Scarf raid could cause this level of destruction..."

Classic would soon skid up next to the dragon, looking out over the cityskape with her before pointing to the bridge ahead, connecting the two halves of South Island and the route to the Mystic Ruins.

"Huh?" Cyclone spoke, looking out. "The bridge?"

Classic nodded, before Peeling Out towards the bridge, leaving Cyclone by herself. She sighed expaseratedly as the light smack of her hand hit her forehead.

"Damnit Classic..." She growled before she took off after the hedgehog with a Dragon Boost into the ruins below, skidding across the slanted streets and using the light poles to round the sharp turns to keep her pace. Keeping a light jog, she'd soon find herself running along an upper cliffside road, overlooking more of the ruined city below, along with several of the large corpses of Death Egg Sentinels. Soon skidding down a collapsed part, she'd loop through the inner hull on a Sentinel chest cavity before bursting through the open arm socket, rushing across a central plaza... where there had been a major scuffle with casualties of both Resistance members and Badniks, of which both sides had no survivors. Cyclone had a small bit of sympathy for those who lost their lives from this, but for now, she had to keep moving and get to the bridge before more Badniks could potentially arrive.

Skidding across the plaza and down the road towards the bridge, Cyclone would soon burst through debris as she soon reached a steel bridge overlooking the cliffs of the city. Classic would soon spin across the ground and catch up with Cyclone, soon the two catching up to the bridge as Amy came over the intercom.

"Keep your guards up you two!" Amy spoke. "The Metals are on the radar right now!"

"I have a negative on a visual." Cyclone spoke. "Are you sure they're here?"

"The radar has the Ruby signals live." Amy spoke. "Keep searching."

"Roger." Cyclone spoke, hanging up as the two kept their speed... before a massive ground drill slammed up, destroying the bridge in an instant and throwing Cyclone and Classic into the air. Cyclone would rerighten and grab Classic, soon landing on a much smaller ledge as they soon saw their instigator of the attack: a remaining Death Egg Sentinel.

"Well, looks like this guy was missed when the Resistance was here last time." Cyclone said, her tendrils tingling. "Let's scrap him now!"

Classic nodded as the two soon lept down from ledge just as the Sentinel slammed its drill fist right where they were just a second ago. Soon enough the two would be running up the massive frame of the Sentinel as the two had soon lept into the air above it and slammed spinning into the head of the mech, bursting through the other side and skidding down the newly opened corridor from the drill punch, landing down in what appeared to be a vehicle tunnel.

"Nice work." Cyclone said. "I owe ya one."

Classic flashed a thumbs up as he winked, before his ear twitched as he looked ahead. Cyclone looked over as well before the two ran ahead and ducked behind a set of debris, soon seeing what appeared to be the three Metals.

"You've done excellent work Metal Milla." Metal Sonic's voice spoke, crossing his arms. "Empire City has been fully converted. G.U.N. has fallen, and the Regime's outer rule has become perfect. You've certainly proven yourself more worthy than those pathetic copies of the kitsune and wildcat, that's for sure."

"Was there ever any doubt?" The metallic hound said. "My design was made to be flawless. Those two were not designed for combat; they're nothing more than mere lab assistants compared to my killing capabilities."

"I wouldn't get cocky." Metal Sash spoke. "We still need to preserve the fear in this world so that way Lord Robotnik may secure his win. Cutting off the supply bridge will be perfect to keep them down, as well as limit their access to the other side of the island."

"Then it's high time we cause some destruction." Metal Sonic spoke, soon becoming cloaked in a magenta glow. "Move. Now."

The other two would become cloaked as they followed behind the metal hedgehog across the long bridge, right as soon Classic and Cyclone came out from behind the rubble cover they were hiding behind. Gritting her teeth, Cyclone would rush out onto the bridge after the three as Classic soon came out after her.

"Hey! Bolt-Brains!" Cyclone yelled as the two son came up behind the three flying across the bridge. Metal Sonic would clearly look back, visibly angry at the dragon's existence.

"Well then, you rats decided to show up?" Metal Sonic growled. "Hmph. No matter, you'll die soon enough." At that point the prototype Ruby inside him resonated before grew larger in size, soon towering over the two as he sped off ahead while Metal Sash and Metal Milla soon created a wall of Ruby cubes behind the two, blocking their way back and forcing them to move forward into the fight. Metal Sonic would soon become a swirling electric vortex as he charged ahead at the two. Cyclone motioned to Classic as the two dodged to the side, Metal Sonic barrelling right past them before rematerializing right in front of the two, several electric orbs soon materializing in an orbit around him as be floated backwards away from the two, before firing off the orbs one by one at the two. Classic motioned at Cyclone as she nodded and activated her chargers as time seemed to slow down around her entirely as Classic was curled in a ball in front of her. With her time slowed down around her, she soon connected a kick straight and hard into the spinning ball. Classic would rocket forward hard and slam straight into the giant Metal Sonic, sending the robot sprawling. Rerightening, Metal Sonic would shoot past them again in a sparking cyclone as soon he rushed past the two, soon taking the place of Metal Sash as she soon took front and center as their opponent.

Metal Sash wasted no time as she soon activated the prototype's power, her movements becoming a blur as she became a shredding top heading straight for Classic. The hedgehog would soon dodge clear to the right as soon Metal Sash had slammed into the back of Cyclone, slamming her forward into another rubble pile and sprawling across the bridge as the run continued. Metal Sash soon started warping to several points around the two, leaving behind glowing orbs only growing larger and larger in size before she rematerialized one last time, soon sicking all the orbs straight onto the two. Cyclone grit her teeth as she dodged hard right, just barely missing the two as Classic was thrown into the air. Cyclone acted fast and ran up the support side, slamming another kick into Classic as he rocketed towards and slammed into Metal Sash, sprawling her backwards.

"So that's how you want to play, is it?" Metal Sash growled. "Metal Milla, show them how we really do things then."

"With PLEASURE!" The metallic hound barked as she took Metal Sash's place, soon activating her own Ruby prototype. Soon enough she'd start to summon several dozen Ruby cubes around her frame as she soon fired them off into the road, sending blasting pillars into the air to block the roadway. Soon enough the duo would try to weave between the several pillars of the road before Metal Milla threw several Cubes straight for the two, intending for a kill. Cyclone dodged to a side before Classic grabbed her arm, nodding as he soon spun and launched her as she slammed full force into Metal Milla with a hard Dragon Boost. Growling, Metal Milla sent the Ruby prototype into overclock mode, soon opening several ruby portals and sending cube blasts onto the bridge, rocking its foundation as she soon charged straight for Classic. The hedgehog prepared as he soon slammed right into the metal hound with a Spin Dash, knocking her back as she growled again. She'd soon roar in anger as she dashed ahead and slammed through the bridge floor, soon blasting up through it and bringing Classic and Cyclone down to the lower level. Her optics glowed angrily as she soon fired off more and more Phantom Orbs straight for the duo. Cyclone dodged hard to the left before Classic spun into a ball again, Cyclone activating her charger bullet-time again as she delivered a slam kick again and rocket Classic straight into the robot hound.

That hit her limit; Metal Milla was PISSED. "ENOUGH!" She roared, soon diving behind to Metal Sonic and Metal Sash. "JUST DIE!" She roared, soon preparing a gigantic blast of Ruby energy to level the entire bridge and the two on it. Cyclone tensed up as she motioned to Classic one final time, the hedgehog nodding in response as he lept to her and grabbed her arm, spinning at top speed before sending Cyclone flying in a true Dragon Boost, slamming straight through the metallic hound.

Metal Milla froze up, her optics widening as she looked down at the massive hole in her chasis. Her actions halted immediately as she soon lost her auxillary power, shutting down and collapsing... and dropping the massive orb straight on the other Metals, soon detonating violently as the prototypes were thrown up into the air above the bridge. Classic went wide-eyed as he soon charged a Peel-Out and ran like hell to grab the falling prototypes before they hit the ground and potentially shattered. Cyclone skidded to a halt on the other side of the bridge, panting as she soon caught one of the prototypes, soon seeing Classic had caught the other two. She sighed in relief.

"At the very least we've got the prototypes Tails wanted." Cyclone sighed. "You okay over there Classic?"

Classic would put one of the rubies in his other hand to flash her a thumbs up... but soon noticed the two Rubies were pulsating. He jumped back in shock as the two fell to the ground on the opposite side of the bridge of where Cyclone was.

"What the..." Cyclone breathed as she soon saw the two Rubies merging together, forming a slightly larger Ruby. Soon enough the gem started pulsating on its own as it soon pulled Cyclone's Ruby out of her hand, absorbing it too and growing bigger. Soon there was a bright flash of magenta red light that blinded the two...

* * *

Cyclone soon moved her arms from her face, getting a bearing of her surroundings... only to see herself back in Green Hill?

No... no. Something was very off this time, even moreso than the choked out Green Hill with Desert Ruins. This Green Hill had the feel of the original... but the vegetation looked as if it was dying; flowers wilted, each in a disturbing and odd way, certain totems having these almost twisted and distorted faces of screaming or pain, several of the lush palm trees now wilted or missing leaves altogether. The grass was now a dull, dead yellow-brown, the rocks a cracked and lifeless charcoal grey and black. The sky overhead was overcast grey, not even a speck of any sort of sunlight peaking through, and the water was a dull, dirty grey, as if it was polluted by something.

 _This definitely wasn't the Green Hill they were at before..._

"Did..." Cyclone breathed, looking at her surroundings. "Did the Ruby do this?" It seemed like an impossibility at this point; did the Ruby prototype somehow throw her into some sort of twisted alternate dimension of South Island? That should have been impossible though if Tails' evaluations were anything to go by...

Cyclone shook her head. Now wasn't the time for trying to overthink; she needed to find Classic and she needed to do it fast!

Steeling her nerves, she took off into what she could only describe as 'Silent Hill'.

* * *

Classic's head was pounding as he sat up from where he was, shaking his head. Opening his eyes, he'd soon look around to try and find out where he was... only to be met with similar sights Cyclone had.

Only he was deep in the underground caverns of Green Hill.

Getting to his feet, he'd look around the area before feeling himself... and he froze in a panic. The Ruby prototypes! They were gone!

Classic stomped his foot in anger; he didn't realize he had lost track of the prototypes until now, and who knows where they were by this point?! Angry and befuddled, Classic one of the many dull grey rocks on the grass, before immediately stubbing his toe on it and launching himself backwards, rings popping out of him in the process.

Silently sighing to himself, he'd sit down and think things over a bit before he got up, soon charging up a Peel-Out and making a break across the terrain underground. Surely there had to be an exit out of here... right?

Classic hoped to himself that as he kept moving through the area...

* * *

Cyclone hadn't gotten too far before she encountered a first sign of resistance; Badniks, much like Eggman's... but she noted something was seriously off with their optics. They looked much more... malicious. As if they actively knew something she didn't know. Gritting her teeth, she'd soon throw a kick at an approaching Motobug, throwing it back.

It wasn't destroyed.

Hell, it didn't even _flinch_.

It just kept trudging along as if nothing was wrong in the slightest.

That started to creep Cyclone out as she backed out of the way, letting the Motobug go by. Her nerves seemed to flare up as she saw the emotionless Motobug go by her, it's optics full of malice.

Something was definitely wrong here... what... or more accurately... where was this almost hellish incarnation of Green Hill in the first place? Cyclone shook her head as she kept running, taking care to keep out of the way of the now invincible Badniks and skidding across the dead grass, soon looking for her to find a way to get into the underground caverns of the place; maybe there would be something down there?

She still tried to keep a level head as she soon rounded one of the loops of the dead Green Hill, the rocks collapsing behind her into rubble as she soon rounded around another cliffside as she soon saw... Classic? No... it only looked like him? The fur was a much darker blue, almost metallic... Metal?

"Enjoying the taste of the Ruby's power?" The figure spoke, without even turning to her. Cyclone froze; she was silent on seeing him! How had he known she was there?

"Who are you?" Cyclone growled, her muscles tense as she got ready for whatever this... thing... threw at her. The figure merely chuckled before turning to Cyclone.

"You should already know." It spoke, showing that it was some sort of disturbing cyborg-ish mashup between Classic and Metal Sonic; the black metal eyes with red pupils, a red viscous liquid dripping down the muzzle from the eyes. "This is all thanks to the Ruby. This perfect world... and a trap you can't escape from."

Cyclone grit her teeth, gripping her fists tightly as she stared down the faker. "Bullshit. I will escape."

"Oh, you will?" The fake Sonic said, his face contoring into a twisted grin. "I'd like to see you try." He then started laughing; a deep sadistic laughing before he disappeared in a distortion, much like anything projected from the Ruby prototypes.

Cyclone grit her teeth; now she knew Classic would be in trouble. She took off as fast as she could, hoping to find her spiny little friend before that thing got to him...

* * *

Classic skid around a dead grassy corner before he launched off several totem poles and skidded across a wooden bridge, narrowly dodging shots from a Buzzbomber as he dashed into a low-hanging cave, the Buzzbomber crashing into the overhang above. Classic skidded to a halt, panting heavily as he looked back, still hearing the Buzzbomber's wings still were flitting as if it was trying to move.

Classic shuddered as he ran onwards and soon found his way back into the outer areas of the dead Green Hill. The sky had become darkened and much, much redder, things looking worse and worse. Classic started to frantically look around; where was Cyclone? And why was Green Hill now decaying into this almost hell-like landscape? Classic started running as he skidded down the slopes, he needed to find Cyclone...

And then he heard the laugh. That sadistic laugh.

Without looking back Classic picked up the pace, soon skidding around the corner and dashing down the steep slope as he soon looked behind him for a moment.

It was the figure Sash saw, chasing after him now in a sprint.

Classic could only guess that bad things would happen if that thing caught him, so he kept his mettle and kept running across the plains and down the spinning tunnels... but the figure seemed to be following him through the walls, almost like some sort of phantom. He'd keep up the pace as best as he could...

...and then a surprise red Spring sent him careening straight into the phantom chasing him. The phantom dissipated the instant it touched Classic... but what came in its place was excruciating, burning pain coursing through his body. Classic silently screamed as he collapsed to the ground, nearly immobilized by the pain coursing through him...

"And this is supposed to be the hero?" The figure's voice spoke, coming from almost everywhere at once. "Sad. Just sad. The Ruby's power will be more than enough to kill you off..."

Classic grit his teeth as he pulled a Peel-Out and took off across the plains, ignoring the coursing pain inside him as he barreled through tunnels, soon seeing that same damn figure chasing after him again. Classic grit his teeth as he soon spun through a collapsible wall, running across another wooden bridge as he soon burst into another cave section, his feet moving faster than he ever thought as he barreled across the underground plains, the figure hot on his heels. Gritting his teeth, he'd skid around the corner to soon see something that got his hopes up.

A Giant Ring! Not even noticing it was an off-color red or the fact it was glitching, or just frankly not even caring, his legs huffed it as hard as he could towards that Ring.

"NOOOOOO!" The figure bellowed as he took off into a flight after the hedgehog. "YOU WON'T ESCAPE THE RUBY'S POWER!"

Classic paid no attention as he barreled straight into the Ring as it disappeared in a shower of sparks.

"Damnit..." The figure growled as it warped away... "He won't get so lucky next time..."

* * *

Cyclone collapsed to her knees, panting hard as her eyes frantically darted around the area, seeing how the area twisted into a hellscape so fast. Things weren't that bad nearly a minute ago, what the hell was going on?! Was... was this the Ruby's doing?

She soon didn't relax for long as a buzzsaw burst from under her, attempting to cut her clean in half. Luckily she had reacted fast enough and moved out of the way, her tanktop being the only casualty as it now was cut clean in half from the sawblade. Cyclone didn't even notice or react as she soon moved like hell through the hill, soon more mechanical deathtraps popping through and trying to kill her. It was almost as if the reality was bending under its own stress, conforming itself to its own goals...

To kill Cyclone.

The dragon wasn't about to let this happen anytime soon as she skidded across the dead grass, the force soon starting to show more and more metallic surface as the buzzsaws and traps kept emerging from the ground. Totem poles split open as they soon revealed electric tesla coils, soon zapping across the path Cyclone was fleeing down. Tensing her muscles, she soon pulled an Axel Flip over the three-foot high barrier, landing on the other side in a roll and continuing onwards. More and more of the terrain would be collapsing away, revealing metallic rusted ground and more mechanical traps. Soon enough the sky flashed in bursts of static, soon white noise taking over nearly the entire sky... before it collapsed away, revealing the mechanical workings as everything came collapsing down, save for the pieces of foreground.

Cyclone grit her teeth, barreling ahead. Where was Classic?

* * *

Classic was flailing wildly as he soon faceplanted onto the metal ground, hitting it hard and remaining motionless for a bit. After a few seconds, he got back up, shaking his head in pain as he looked around, looking at his surroundings...

He appeared to be in some kind of metallic arena. Definitely not in Green Hill anymore.

He started to try and look for some sort of way to bust through the walls... before he soon heard something that sounded like thumping. Looking up, he'd soon see what look like a figure bursting through one of the upper walls, starting to fall into the arena.

It was Cyclone.

Soon enough spikes would sprout up from the arena floor, looking to impale Cyclone as she fell. Classic reacted fast; the spikes had come up in a way that he was okay, so soon enough he had curled into a Spindash and started slicing in a circular motion, slicing straight through the spikes and knucking them aside before he scampered and caught Cyclone before she hit the ground.

Cyclone's eyes snapped open as they frantically darted around the area in a panic, looking at her surroundings... before realizing she was in Classic's arms.

She hugged the hedgehog tightly without a second thought, almost breaking out into tears.

"Oh my god, Classic..." She breathed. "Thank ancestors you're still alive! I couldn't find you anywhere! I thought you... you..."

Classic said nothing as he hugged the dragon, thankful she was still alive.

That was, until their reunion was interrupted by the sound of sarcastic clapping.

"Oh boo hoo hoo, the two little lovebirds get their reunion right before their inevitable end." The familiar voice said as both Classic and Cyclone looked over to see none other than the abomination Metal Sonic, slowly clapping his hands as he stared at the two. "Such a sad sight, really. No one's going to ever find out what's happened to you once I am through with you."

Cyclone got to her feet as both she and Classic took up defensive positions. "It doesn't matter what you throw at us! We'll keep pushing through no matter what sort of dirty mind tricks you try to pull on us!"

The figure merely laughed. "You really think that you could stand up to something as powerful as me?"

"You're no deity!" Cyclone growled, while Classic stuck his tongue out at the figure. "What the hell do you think you are?!"

The figure's red pupils dilated, becoming mere specks among the sea of black scalera in his eyes.

"I-"

The metal claws grew sharper.

" _AM-_ "

A sadistic grin grew on his face, showing the crooked toothy cheshire-cat-like grin.

 ** _"GOD."_**

And with that all hell broke loose.

* * *

"Where are they?! Where are they?!" Amy cried out, frantically checking over every single area of South Island from the radar. She was thrown into a state of panic ever since Classic and Cyclone's life signals went missing, and now she couldn't find them anywhere!

"Oh nononononono..." Amy panicked, still scanning all across the islands and even the several continents that made up Mobius.

Were they thrown to Westside Island?

Nope.

Angel Island?

Not there either.

Chun-Nan?

No sign of them. None whatsoever, from anywhere.

Amy was starting to get severely worried. It should have been impossible to just... disappear like this! What if...

Oh no...

In a panic she called to Tangle and Whisper, who came over within a second, trying to calm down the pink hedgehog.

"We'll head out and find 'em Ames, just calm down before you stroke out!" Tangle said, trying to calm the hedgehog down.

"It's impossible for them to die." Whisper spoke. "Timeline would come unwound if that were to happen."

Amy tried to straighten her breathing, sitting down and clutching a hand to her chest, slowing her rapid heart rate down. "S-sorry..." She sighed, putting her hands in her head. "Here I am supposed to be a Resistance leader and yet I'm having an unnatural mental breakdown over this..."

"Don't worry." Tangle said. "We'll head out and make sure the kids are alright."

"A-alright..." Amy sighed in relief as Tangle and Whisper exited the Resistance Base...

* * *

The metal abomination came charging right for Classic, metallic claws outstretched to administer heavy pain. An angry screech erupted from the throat of the figure as he charged straight for Classic, intending for a kill. Classic would barely managed to stumble out of the way as Cyclone attempted to counter with a Dragon Cyclone of her own, but then the figure warped away before making a charge straight for her instead. Cyclone tensed up as she waited for the figure to get closer... then reacted fast as she performed a dodge-counter shoulder throw takedown, flipping the figure over her with enough force that could potentially break the opponent's arm.

The figure merely smirked as the sickening sound of bone crunching and metal rending rang through his arm... then proceeded to use it as if nothing had happened to it in the first place.

"Wh-what?!" Cyclone said, backing up.

"Foolish, foolish little girl..." The abomination Metal spoke, soon making another charge for her. "Don't you realize? There's nowhere for you to run..."

Cyclone threw another fist at the figure, who vanished before it made contact and rushed from a different angle.

"You can't hide."

A roundhouse thrown. Vanished again.

"You can't even fight."

A tendril slash. Yet another whiff.

"Why continue to prolong the inevitable?"

Cyclone grew angrier, still trying to search for the creature trying to fight her, before she felt a sharp slash across her back, knocking her to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she felt her tendrils grabbed and she was thrown straight into the wall. Cyclone growled in pain as she tried to get to her feet as she felt the metal claws were wrapped around her throat, lifting her off the ground.

"Now do everyone a favor, and _die_." The figure growled, raising a hand to slash into her face... before being slammed to the side by a Spindash from Classic, dropping Cyclone and colliding with the metal wall.

Cyclone choked out her breath as the air re-entered her lungs. "I owe y-ya one..." She said, gripping her fists and staring down the figure. Classic did so as well, ready for a bristling fight.

"Hmmm... interesting..." The figure said, chuckling darkly. "So this will be an amusing fight indeed."

"It doesn't matter what you throw! You're not phasing me with your mind games!" Cyclone growled, her tendrils twitching as she soon rushed forward, the two getting ready to continue their fight. Classic launched a Spindash as Cyclone slammed it right at the figure. The abomination merely grinned that disturbing toothy smile as he extended his arms, stopping Classic's oncoming spinning ball before revolving and sending it straight back to Cyclone, slamming her dead-center and throwing her back against the wall. She growled, getting back up and charging up a Dragon Boost before rocketing forward hard, slamming straight into the abomination Metal. The half-blood-half-metal hedgehog growled, gripping into her as he skid across the ground, the force of the Dragon Boost clearly acting more powerful than his own friction...

Then Cyclone pushed it further, activating her Boost in a drill-like motion as she slammed the figure hard into the wall, sending him spinning like hell. Growling angrily, the Metal would grab Cyclone and throw her against the opposite wall, impacting it hard and leaving a noticeable size dent in the rusted steel. The abomination would then rush forward, screeching like a banshee to try and kill Cyclone, only to be met when a hard-charged Spindash slammed him away into another wall.

"Nnnngghh..." The figure growled, soon turning to the air. "You have nerve."

"It's not nerve, it's resolve!" Cyclone yelled, soon grabbing Classic's arm and whirling in a top-like motion before launching him right for the Metal. Classic slammed hard into the Metal before it teleported away again, re-materializing above the arena with a deathly glare in its eyes. It's jaw cracked open at an unnatural angle, soon firing out a deadly red blast of a blood salvo piercing through the ground, making its way at the two. Cyclone grit her teeth as she dodged to the hard right, soon Classic dodging to the left and Spindashing up the wall, soon launching himself above the Metal.

Time seemed to slow as Classic started thinking fast about his options of attack; merely landing on top of this crazed metallic abomination wouldn't work, and an Insta-Shield would just throw himself backwards instead...

Then an idea struck gold.

Against all odds, Classic soon spun into a ball and began performing a Spindash in midair, soon slamming into the Metal from above in a fast-spinning ball. Not only was Classic spinning at a high rpm already, but the force from the collision with the Metal with the rotation sent the abomination flying into a wall as Classic hit the ground spinning and took off the instant he touched it. Cyclone looked dumbfounded at what Classic had just pulled, but soon turned her attention back to the figure as it was getting up from the wall. She knew there wasn't much time before it'd try to unleash hell again, so she reacted in the fasted and bluntest route possible.

She rushed hard to the figure and sliced its head clean off before it got the chance to react or even try to counter.

The head went flying as it clanked against the wall, the body falling to the ground limp as a mixture of blood and oil poured out of the stub of a nonexistant neck onto the metallic ground. Cyclone panted hard as Classic soon rushed over to her, checking to see if she was okay.

"I-I'm fine..." Cyclone said, looking to the laid-out headless body of the Metal that had attacked them. "Though I get the feeling the Ruby prototypes we're missing is inside that thing, given his strength and teleportation affinities."

Classic signed to her asking how they were gonna get the Ruby out of it.

"Well, I never said it was gonna be pleasant..." Cyclone said, walking over and hoisting the dead body of the half-flesh Metal so that it was in an upright position.

Classic's eyes widened as he shook his head, clearly not liking where this was going...

"There's no other way we're gonna get in out Classic." Cyclone said, stretching the fingers of her right hand.

Classic shielded her eyes as Cyclone plunged her hand into the stump of a neck, blood and oil gushing up from it a bit as she writhed her fingers inside it, trying to get a feel for the Ruby...

"Trust me, this isn't the first time I had to do something like this, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be the last." Cyclone said, soon feeling something hard in her grasp. "Ah, and I think I have it here... either that or a trachea..." With a hard pull she'd yank her hand our of the headless body... and the blood and oil soaked Ruby along with it.

"Ah, excellent. A little washing and sanitization oughta get this thing back to looking normal." Cyclone spoke, looking to Classic as she discarded the body. "...you can open your eyes now."

Classic would move his hands, only to see her right hand and forearm drenched in a blood and oil mixture, along with the Ruby.

He looked like he was about to hurl as he covered his mouth.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." Cyclone said as the Ruby started to glow brightly, blinding them both...

* * *

When the light finally died down, Cyclone and Classic would soon find themselves back on the bridge connecting the two halves of South Island. Judging from the sun's positioning that Cyclone could make out, it had been at least an hour or two ever since they were pulled into that Ruby hell...

"Were we really gone for that long?" Cyclone asked herself, looking at the sun's positioning. "It couldn't have been..."

"HEY!" A voice yelled, the two looking over to see it was Tangle waving from a nearby cliffside, Whisper next to her. "Amy's been worried sick about you two! Are you guys alright?!"

"Y-yeah! We're okay!" Cyclone yelled. "And we got the Ruby!"

"Alright! Now c'mon and let's get back to base!" Tangle yelled. "The longer we're out here the higher the chance ol' Muttski's gonna find out we made off with more of his prototypes!"

Cyclone nodded, looking to Classic. "You ready to go?"

Classic nodded in response.

"Then let's report back." The dragon said as the two took back off for the base... before an Eggrobo dropped in, just out of view of the group.

"Well... the doctor's not gonna be pleased about this news..."

* * *

 **With a hellish and hard-earned victory under the belt of the two small ones, things are definitely starting to turn around as the Resistance procures another large Ruby prototype. However, what of the Chaos Emeralds they still need? And more of their allies? Find out next time in Chapter 22: "Rockin' this Guardian Prison"...**


	23. Chapter 22: Rockin' this Guardian Prison

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 4  
_**

 _Chapter 22: Rockin' this Guardian Prison_

* * *

The blazing heat would bear down on the sandy oceans of Green Hill Zone as two figures made their way across it rocky brown cliffsides jutting out of the desert's surface, moving across the rock and metal structures as they made their way towards one particular giant outcropping...

Atop one of the stone mountain outcroppings was a gigantic Totem pole, looking out over the ocean of sand... and having a large amount of metallic structures around it entirely. What would appear to be the large spotlights would be on adorning mountains, seemingly searching for intruders...

"That looks like our target out there..." Zeena said from behind their cover as she and Zazz looked onwards at the giant sandy canyon and rock formation. "And figures, the place is crawling with Badniks of his."

"Nnnngh, why are we out here in the sticks anyways?" Zazz complained, his tongue hanging lazily out. "Shouldn't we be up causin' mayhem and destruction with the other members of the Resistance?"

"Zazz, our mission is much more important right now." Zeena said. "One of our friends is inside that fortress held hostage. And if push comes to shove, we need his muscle to make a comeback and put that fatass in his place."

"Why not have us use Zavok?" Zazz spoke.

"Zavok may be strong, but raw bulk is what he lacks." Zeena spoke. "If we're going to bring things back, we need Zomom's raw bulk."

"Aaaand what exactly makes you think he'd be out here in the sticks near some sort of giant rock?" Zazz sarcastically spoke.

"This is where the tiny Sonic had fought the copy of him, this Zone." Zeena spoke. "And since over there is the most heavily guarded area in the entirety of the Zone, by logical inference, Zomom has to be trapped in there."

"And if he's not?" Zazz asked.

"Are you questioning my logic Zazz?"

"I'm just sayin'." Zazz said, looking out on the area. "God, what I wouldn't give to shred all those Badniks out there."

"Save for when we make our escape." Zeena said, still looking out across the sandy canyon... before she spotted something. "Hellooooo... what do we have here?"

"Huh? Whatcha seein'?" Zazz said, trying to scoot over to get a look at where Zeena was looking.

Two Eggrobos were carrying what looked like a container with a green diamond inside it would be scuttling inside the base itself.

"A well-earned prize for our side." Zeena spoke. "Looks like we've got two things to track down, unless you wanna split up to get them both?"

"Depends, what's the other one?"

"They have a Chaos Emerald."

Zazz grinned maliciously. "Then how about I break roundy out of his cell while you go after the gem?"

"What, just because I'm the girl of the group?" Zeena spoke.

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

"It's an Emerald."

"Same difference." Zazz said, soon getting up. "So I will see you once you got the stone." He then soon crawled over the rocks and slipped down the side of the canyon face, out off to the side of the gigantic fortress. Zeena sighed as the light smack of her palm hit her face; clearly this wasn't how she wanted to go about things but whatever. Glancing around to make sure nothing was currently looking in her direction, she'd soon slip down the rock face and towards the sandy desert floor.

With contact with the sand ocean, she'd look out at the gigantic Guardian Rock complex itself, trying to see how she'd be able to sneak in. No doubt Zazz would try to break in the old fashioned way since he was going on a prison break... but getting into the Emerald's storage would be another question entirely. At that point she noticed what appeared to be a transport truck coming in. Perfect, she could sneak on there!

Keeping herself hidden until the right time, she'd leap onto the back of the truck and slip into the cargo bay unnoticed.

"Alright, now to find a good hiding place..." She spoke to herself, looking around the bay of the truck. "Alright, there should be a nice size box I can hide inside..."

And sure enough the female Zeti found what she was looking for, near a corner of the truck's hold. She smirked to herself as she slowly tried to pry the side open ever so much with her nails so that way she could get it open without too much damage to the crate itself...

...and was soon taken aback to see that inside the crate was a life-size model of her copy self was inside the crate, in a rather alluring position.

"...some people..." Zeena growled, soon pulling the model out of the crate and hiding it on top of the other boxes in the room. Then, making absolutely sure she'd be able to fool the Egg Pawns, she slipped inside the box and proceeded to strip down out of her sweater, scarf and beanie, letting her hair down and shutting the box entirely, assuming the position the statue was in... before growing increasingly uncomfortable with the fact she was essentially naked inside the box, and wasn't too keen on Egg Pawns ogling over her body, even if they were robots. Reaching down and grabbing her scarf, she'd tie it around her breasts before she took back up the pose, feeling a little bit better now.

It seemed to be a long excruciating ride as she held that pose for as long as she could before she felt the truck stop. Holding her breath and slowing her heart rate down, she'd soon feel the crate begin to move as she heard some robotic voices outside her box.

"Hey, careful with that! That's supposed to be the new statue that's supposed to go in the boss's office!" An Egg Pawn said outside her crate. Zeena tensed up as she felt the crate move from under herself. Tensing up, she soon saw that the pawns were opening the crate front, going to look inside.

"Yeah yeah, lemme just check to make sure it isn't damaged." The other Egg Pawn said, soon opening the front of the crate and looking in at the motionless Zeena acting as a statue. "Yep, perfectly fine!" He said, shutting the crate again. "Even got it extra dolled up and all that!"

"Alright, get it inside the base into the storage until we can get the office of this warden refurbished." The first Egg Pawn said as the crate began to move again. Zeena almost gasped from the sudden movement but stifled it down as best she could as the crate moved through the base.

Soon enough the crate came to a halt as Zeena soon felt herself slammed against the side of the crate as it was laid lengthwise on the ground, other crates being stacked on top of it before the Egg Pawns left the room, the place sealing itself off. The Zeti calmly breathed to herself as she soon poked a hole in the box casing, peeking out at the room.

It appeared to be a rather dark room, not much account from visibility aside from the lone light in the ceiling. It was definitely cold in the room, probably for material preservation most likely. She shivered a bit, feeling the goosebumps covering her skin and wanting to get back into her sweater and hat rather than just continue to have her scarf wrapped around her chest. Moving her orientation a bit, she'd soon have herself cramped in the small space as she pressed her feet against the wall of the crate and pushed hard, the muscles in her toned thighs soon shoving the crate wall right out of it's sockets. Thee Zeti smirked to herself that she still had some of that strength in her as she soon crawled out of the box, grabbing her sweater and beanie before redressing herself proper, the scarf back around her neck where it should be.

"Alright, I'm in..." Zeena spoke to herself. "Now... to just find out where that Emerald's being held..." With stealth on her side she'd slip out the door and peek down the base's underground hallway, the rocky walls being upheld by steel support beams and rather spacious for cargo lifts to drive through. Taking a deep breath, she'd soon dash out of the room and behind one of the support pillars for cover, taking care not to draw any attention to herself. Alright, now if she could just-

Her train of thought was derailed as the whirling sound of a sawblade coursed through the hall sides a few feet down from where she was hiding. Evidently the robots were still heavily in construction of the place.

"This is gonna complicate things..." Zeena growled to herself before she dived behind another support pillar, making sure there was no coursing for a sawblade. She repeated this down the hallway for a bit until...

"Is... is that the sound of a jet?" She asked herself. She kept herself hidden in the shadows as soon enough a large beetle-like robot with a single frontward camera eye flew slowly past down the hall, its wings outstretched and seemed to be searching for something.

"...shit. Security." Zeena growled to herself. "This is gonna be harder than I thought..."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the base, Zazz would be scaling around the outer backside of the base, looking for a proper way inside the base. Zazz grit his teeth as he kept scaling the outer structure, just wondering how the hell he hadn't been spotted yet.

"Don't these idiots have maintenance shafts or something like that?" Zazz growled to himself as he soon reached an upper vent. "Geh, I'll just have to settle for this shit I guess..." With one fell swoop he'd rip the vent right off the opening and tossed it below, remarking at how... rather easy it was for him to do that.

"Huh... guess some of Mobius's energy's still inside me..." He muttered himself. "Ah well, what anyone else don't know won't kill 'em." He said as he climbed into the vent.

Meanwhile, lower on the base area, several Buzzbombers were in repair mode as they worked away with the blowtorches on their stingers on the outer walls. Work would be going slowly until soon one of the Buzzbombers would be smashed downwards by the vent from above. Immediately this set the other robotic bees into panic mode as they soon all radioed in frantic burbling about the vent shatter.

Zazz would already be far down the vent by the time The Buzzbombers would be frantic, so a breach wouldn't be suspected as of yet. Slipping through the lower vents, he'd soon crash into what appeared to be a lower lab area, clearly not in use at the moment as the lights are off. The Zeti smirked to himself as he went to the door and pried it open with his claws. Glancing down both ends of the hallway, Zazz would soon scamper down the left side of the hallway, soon pulling his moon out of the hammerspace as he carted it over his shoulders. Egg Pawns would pass him by, not even noticing it wasn't the copies like the other Zetis, and soon enough Zazz would be descending lower and lower into the base.

"Hmmm, these guys seem to be dumber than I thought..." Zazz thought to himself as he soon reached an elevator. "Heh, maybe this'll be easier than I thought..."

Said thought was derailed as the elevator opened just for a copy Zazz to be on the other side of the door.

"Huh?" The copy said. "What in the hell are you?"

"You." Zazz spoke. "Where's the prison level?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because otherwise I'm gonna pound your face in?"

"Oh yeah? You and wha-"

Next thing the copy knew, he was already a crunched mess underneath Zazz's moon.

"That's what." Zazz growled, soon picking his moon back up to see his copy fade. "Guess I'm doing this the hard way..." HE soon set his moon down inside the elevator itself and hopped on top of it, sitting down as the elevator doors closed. "Lesse...hmmm... ah, fuckit." He said, soon hitting the lowest-most button on the elevator. He then pulled out a cigar from one of his jacket pockets and a lighter, soon lighting it and taking a smoke as the elevator descended downwards toward the lower floors...

...before the fire alarm went off from the smoke from Zazz's cigar. The sprinklers would go off and start showering the halls and the elevator shaft as Zazz looked disgruntled.

"God... damnit..." He growled, soon the elevator opening up as there were Egg Pawns scampering in the chaos of the fire alarm. He said nothing and merely grabbed his moon, carrying it over him as he continued down the corridors in silence, watching the Egg Pawns scampering around him in the resulting chaos...

* * *

Zeena would sneak between the pillar shadows as well as she could as she made her way towards the lower levels of the fortress stairwell, slowly sliding down the railing around the side, hanging of the side to avoid detection before she hit level 12-G wing. Slipping through the door, she'd soon hear the alarm going off; Zazz's fire alarm incident had been set off up above, sending the security drones into a panic down here. Zeena growled as she dived into the shadows again, the beetles zipping by her position. Clutching tightly to her chest to feel her heart racing, she peeked around the corner again to see the coast was clear.

"Shit... what went wrong?" Zeena spoke to herself. "I was being as stealthy as I could! They shouldn't have been able to see me... unless..." She internally cursed to herself. Zazz must have accidentally tipped them off with his infiltration!

"Alright, everything's been compromised..." Zeena spoke to herself. "I've got to find that Emerald fast before everything locks down..."

Soon rushing fast, Zeena would slip down the corridors as she slid around the corner towards the main vault... before soon a horde of Egg Pawns came from another corner and tried charging straight for her. The green Zeti tensed up as she soon performed an axel flip right over the legion of Pawns, the robots barreling past her down the hallway and not even attempting to come back.

"Odd..." Zeena spoke. "Why didn't they go for me?" She shook her head, soon heading straight for the vault door. "Alright, just gotta..." She started keying in a code into the keypad.

"ACCESS DENIED." The keypad droned. Zeena grit her teeth as she tried another code.

"ACCESS DENIED."

Zeena growled angrily. "Alright, I don't have time for this..." She said, soon summoning her snowman head as she activated her energy whip, grabbing the head as she whirled hard and slammed it straight into the iron door, smashing it inwards. The alarms would go off but it'd be drowned out by the blaring alarms of the fire alarm. Slipping inside quickly, Zeena's eyes would dart around the area as she tried to locate where that Chaos Emerald was.

She'd soon see it... but it would be in a capsule all the way at the ceiling of the vault, several stories upwards.

She growled to herself as she soon started making her way up the piles of treasure and gold...

* * *

Zazz meanwhile threw his moon like a giant boulder and smashed apart a legion of Egg Pawns. The pink Zeti was definitely starting to get a high from the destruction he was causing as he smashed his way down towards the largest cell in the rock. He grinned maliciously as he soon used his moon and fired a beam off and melted through the Egg Pawns like slag. Soon enough the hallways in front of him were charred before he went onward and started to head further down towards the main giant cell.

"Alright, this oughta be the big lug's cell..." Zazz said, looking at the keypad. "Combination should be... 'fuck-this-shit'." And with that he slammed his fist straight into the keypad, destroying it in a single blow.

"ACCESS GRANTED." The keypad sputtered out before letting loose a small pop and dying. Zazz grinned as the massive steel door creaked open, soon showing the fat yellow Zeti lying unconscious at the back of the room, fingers twitching ever so slightly from lack of food.

"Alright lardso, let's get you back on your feet..." Zazz said as he pulled out a sandwich from inside his moon and stuffed it down Zomom's mouth. Something within the large Zeti stirred a bit...

"Is that Lebanon?!" Zomom yelled, sitting straight up as he swallowed.

"Well, at least that helped..." Zazz growled. "Now c'mon you big lug, we gotta get outta here."

"Wait!" Zomom said. "I still gotta get Cubivord back for myself!"

"It's literally just a bunch of blocks!" Zazz said. "Why would you want it back?!"

"It can be helpful to us!" Zomom argued. "We need to find it!"

Zazz growled in frustration. "Fine fine..." He grumbled before being grabbed by Zomom as he ran down the hallway...

* * *

Zeena kept her breathing level as she scaled the mounds of stolen gold and contraband before she neared the ceiling of the vault. Gripping to the ceiling with her nails, she soon crawled over to the emerald case upside down. Zeena took a deep breath and tilted her head, stabbing her horn forward and piercing the glass casing. Slowly moving her head, she'd carve a circle out of the glass container as the small cut piece fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Zeena took a deep breath, steeled her nerves, and then reached her arm inside the casing carefully, making sure she'd grab the gem...

Feeling her fingers grip the gem, she'd carefully pull the Chaos Emerald out of it's casing before dropping down onto the large pile of treasure below. "Alright, got it..." She breathed to herself. "Now, if I could just find-"

She'd soon be interrupted as a large burst of cubes would come out from the treasure. She shrieked as she soon tensed up near the vault door, seeing the cubes forming together...

"Cubivord?!" Zeena cried out.

The horde of cubes burbled in response.

"Oh my god..." She breathed. "They had you locked up in here all this time?!"

The cubes burbled again, seemingly distressed.

"Don't worry, Zazz is working on getting Zomom out." She spoke. "We must hurry though, the entire base is currently up in arms right now."

"SECURITY ALERT!" The automatic intercom roared. "SECURITY ALERT! PRISONER Z-2 HAS ESCAPED! TREASURE VAULT CHAOS EMERALD HAS BEEN COMPROMISED! INITIATING PROTOCOL B-72-4, BASE GOING INTO COMPLETE LOCKDOWN!"

"Shit..." Zeena cursed. "We don't have time! Run!"

The alarms would now be blaring loud as the wave of cubes swept Zeena out of the room, the Zeti riding them like a wave as they crashed past the closing doors of the base, the cubes being left behind crashing through nearby vents to reunite with the rest of them. Several Badniks would be charging towards the wave of cubes, only to be smashed to bits completely as it advanced towards one of the elevator shafts...

Crashing through the doors, the cubes would form a protective barrier around the Zeti as it rose fast and hard, soon blasting the elevator clean out of the shaft and into the air. Zeena would soon feel the cubes hit the ground hard as she soon felt them dematerialize around her, seeing the Guardian Rock base going up in smoke...

The cubes sound's became saddened, looking downwards. Zeena lightly petted the head of the cube creature before the elevator container crashed down right next to them, making her jump a bit as she looked over...

...before a large yellow fist smashed the door open, the large yellow Zeti and lanky pink one stumbling out of it.

Zeena gasped. "Zomom!"

"Zeena?" The big yellow Zeti said, looking up. "Oh please tell me I ain't hallucinating..."

"You ain't ya big lug." Zazz spoke. "At least we got outta that death trap."

"Yeah..." Zomom groaned, before seeing the cubes. "CUBIE!"

The cubes burbled as the giant yellow Zeti hugged it, Zeena looking onwards.

"Anyways..." Zazz spoke. "You got the gem Zeena?"

Zeena smirked, holding up the green gemstone with her tail. "As if there was any doubt." She spoke. "All we gotta do is get back to the-"

The Zeti was then interrupted as a large amount rumbling from around the area, soon as several large mechanical legs burst up from the sand as soon the large red mechanical crab emerged from the sand, letting out a mechanical roar as it soon tried to crush the three Zeti under it's feet. Zomom's cubes reacted faster and blocked the smashing crab legs as it held the weight of the three ton mech above them.

"What the hell?!" Zeena said. "How could they have found us so fast?!"

"They must be trackin' the Emerald!" Zazz said. "We gotta get rid of that thing!"

Zeena nodded, getting ready to take off before a metallic craw shot up from the sand, grabbing her tightly. She screamed in pain as the craw retracted into the sand and reattached itself to the gigantic crab mech, Zeena squirming to try and break free of it's grip.

"Zeena!" Zazz yelled, before a laugh came out from the crab mech. Soon enough a hatch on top opened up and out popped onto the dome none other than the purple Eggrobo and her Motobug accomplice.

"Aaaahahahahaha!" Rider laughed. "How you liking the new and improved battle mech losers! Deadly enough for ya?"

"What the hell is that thing?!" Zazz yelled.

"This, you uneducated muppet reject," Rider spat. "Is a Class A Fully Loaded Battle Crustacean Cruiser! The lord's newest and deadliest battle cruiser he's designed to date! You'd have to be a delusional fool in order to think you'd try and stop this thing!"

Zomom growled... either it was him or his stomach. "Put her down now!"

"And why should I listen to you?" Heavy Rider taunted back. "First of all, she's stealing Regime property; Chaos Emeralds don't belong to anyone else except for our glorious leader Lord Robotnik! And secondly..." She slammed the mech's legs down in front of the two other Zeti. "You three are escaped prisoners! I can't have you three running around like this, especially little miss self-absorbed here!"

"I'll tell you who's self-absorbed..." Zeena growled before screaming again as the craw tightened.

"Shut up." Rider said. "You're in no right to speak."

"Not nice to hurt my friends." Zomom growled, cracking his knuckles. "You better put her down before I turn your ride into steamed crab legs."

"Oh please!" Rider shot back. "All you're good for is putting restaurants out of business!"

"You shouldn't make me hungry!" Zomom yelled. "You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry!"

"I hate you even when y- HEY!" Heavy Rider yelled as Zomom grabbed one of the crab's legs. "Get your mits off Regime property!"

"You brought this upon yourself!" Zomom yelled has his hands pounded deep into the leg, trying to pull on it hard. "Zazz! Get Zeena out of that craw before she's mashed greens!"

"Nnnnngghh!" Zazz growled, soon starting to take off up the crab's body towards the main craw where Zeena was being crunched. LArge ammounts of missile fire went off across the crab as they fired on the pink Zeti scampering up the leg. The explosions rocked the mech as Zazz continued his upwards scamper, unfazed by the attacks on him before he clung to the underside of the entire mech. Soon monkey-barring across the underside of the crab mech, sentry guns would pop out of the holes on the mech's surface and open fire at Zazz. The Zeti growled before swinging around and gripping one of the sentry guns, soon opening fire on the other sentry turrets on the bottom of the mech, soon disconnecting them and causing them to drop to the desert floor below.

"S-stop that!" Rider squeaked. "This thing nearly cost a billion bucks for manufacturing!"

"Don't care!" Zazz said, soon scampering down the arm with Zeena in the craw. The pink Zeti would soon wrap around the craw of where the green Zeti was trapped, trying to pry it open...

"Don't even bother!" Rider commented, soon grabbing the pink Zeti with it's other craw and slamming him into the ground. "These things are nuclear-forged hydraulics! You won't be able to rip these things open with your scrawny little body!"

"Maybe I can't..." Zazz said, looking down. "But I know who can!"

"Wh-" Rider started to speak before the entire mech in of itself started to creak and groan, as if it was being lifted off its legs. "H-HEY! DON'T DO THAT! THIS THING IS DELICATE!"

"Like. I. CARE!" Zomom yelled, soon suplexing the entire machine, causing a massive shockwave as the entire mech smashed down on the desert floor. Wasting no time, Zomom would soon plod over to the arms, trying to rip the craws open by brute force.

"A-are they not budging?!" Zeena gasped. "I-I seriously can't feel my lower body from this thing's grip!"

"Hnnnnghhh!" Zomom growled. "This thing's got... a lot more bulk than I e-expected!"

"Think of something so we can trash that half-scrambled halfwit!" Zazz growled. "She can't fight without the help of her little toys! She's all bark and no bite!"

"Bite, bite..." Zomom said to himself, before a lightbulb came to him. "That's it!"

"What's i-" Zeena said, before Zomom bit down hard on the craw's joint, the metal crunching beneath his teeth as the hydraulics failed, releasing Zeena out of its grip.

"Well that's one way to get out of this..." Zazz said as Zomom bit the craw joint for Zazz's trap, letting him out.

"Never doubt the power of an iron jaw!" Zomom said, before leaping up and body-slamming on the stomach of the mech. "Now get out here so I can rip you a new one!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Rider yelled as a hatch opened up on the mech, soon the Eggrobo popping out on the Motobug as she took off into the desert. "YOU'LL BE SORRY YOU MESSED WITH OUR TURF!"

"I highly doubt that." Zeena spoke, picking up the Chaos Emerald. "Alright, Emerald down and now with another of us freed... three more to go."

"We head back now?" Zazz said.

"Hold on." Zomom said, plodding over and hoisting up the gigantic mech. "Just gotta..." And soon by swinging the giant mech in a large circle several times, he released his grip and threw the gigantic metal crab off in the direction of the Guardian Rock base... where it proceeded to collide and explode in a blaze of glory, destroying the base around the totem pole. "So long gay crustacean!"

"...was that really necessary?" Zeena asked.

"Eh, I don't mind." Zazz said, walking up and slapping a hand on the shoulder of the big yellow Zeti. "Good to have yer muscle back pal. Ready to hit the base?"

"I guess so..." Zomom said, before his stomach growled. "Can we get some food first though? That fight worked up an appetite in me!"

All three of the Zeti laughed.

"Good to have you back, Zomom..." Zeena said, smiling.

* * *

The doors to the Resistance base would open up as Zeena and Zazz would walk in, Zeena holding the Chaos Emerald... followed by Zomom, carrying several dozen donut boxes in with him.

"We've got the Chaos Emerald!" Zeena said, tossing the gem to Amy, the hedgehog catching it in her hands. "All we need now are the last two of them."

"And I've got donuts!" Zomom yelled, setting them down on the table of the base. "C'mon everyone, go ahead and help yourselves! They're Krispy Kreme!"

As everyone in the base came up to get donuts, Amy looked to Zazz and Zeena.

"I'm really glad you were able to rescue your friend guys." Amy said. "I do have more good news though; I might have a reading on another one right now!"

"Well, where's he at?" Zazz asked, prompting Amy to go over to the computer screen.

"According to the scanners, this one's located deep in Pangu Lagoon on Avalice..." Amy said, looking back to the two. "You wanna go after them there or do you want me to forward a message to Tails' group?"

"Let us." Zeena said. "I think if there's any sort of hope that we get our reunion, you leave finding the rest of us to us. Just keep us updated if you find any signals of them."

Amy nodded, typing back into the computer. "Firing up the teleporter right now; good luck guys."

Zeena and Zazz nodded before Zomom hopped into the teleporter too with several boxes of donuts...

* * *

 **With a regained ally and acquired Chaos Emerald, the group is one step closer to stopping the bad doctor. But where are the last ones? And the rest of the Zeti? And how does the plans of Avalice fit into all of this? Find out next time in Chapter 23: "The Network Fortress"...**


	24. Chapter 23: The Network Fortress

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 4  
_**

 _Chapter 23: The Network Fortress_

* * *

Inside the base of the Avalician Resistance, Tails and Carol had already arrived a few minutes ago along with Milla and Salamon, and the kitsune was currently going over what plans needed to be done on Avalice. On the table before the group was a digital map of Avalice, showing the kingdoms themselves, with primary focus on Shang Tu at the current moment.

"Alright, so here's our current situation." Tails said, looking in on Shang Tu. "Currently Shang Tu is part of the most heavily fortified kingdoms of the three on Avalice, and this in turn is a major problem for us because Shang Tu has the shield generator satellite for the Death Egg in of itself. And if the Death Egg isn't taken out, it could very well be used in this Project IKARUS thing to wipe our populations out completely. However, the energy shielding around it makes it impossible to enter into it without Eggman affiliate identification. Otherwise..."

"...we'll be ripped to shreds by this thing's weapon systems." Carol finished, soon zooming in on the Death Egg schematics. "Eggman's got all the stops pulled out on this damn thing; laser cannons, anti-air missiles, electric burst shocks, EMP launchers... and then we have the planet killers." She added, zooming in on the eyes of the gigantic station. "The Death Egg Eye's; each one having just as much power as the Eclipse Cannon from the ARK. And chances are he's got a Ruby prototype powering each cannon, meaning if they fire... there may be nothing left of Mobius or Avalice after they hit their targets."

"So that's why we need to get that shield generator down." Tails said. "Once it's down, we can sneak someone in on the Death Egg and blow it to smithereens. And without their strongest weapon aside from Infinite himself, we could be set up for the perfect assault on Eggman's main fortress."

"I have a concern however..." Milla spoke. "How are we even going to get into Shang Tu to take out the shield generator? Chances are Eggman's got the place even more reinforced from last time he took it over..."

"Not to mention there might be anywhere as several dozen Badniks patrolling the outer limits of the kingdom..." Salamon said. "And then there's the logistics of getting up to there without being seen. I mean, Shang Tu's up on a mountain; surely enough we're not gonna be able to climb that thing without getting spotted, right?"

"That's why we came here first." Tails said, looking to the Head Scarf Natalya. "We'll need the Scarves to provide a distraction in order for us to get a proper route to infiltrate in. Do you think you can lend a hand to this plan at all?"

Natalya nodded. "This is our homeland. And we are certainly going to fight for it."

"Alright." Tails said, looking around. "And if I have accurate calculations, there might be a Chaos Emerald there as well. So we'll split up into two separate parties for this entire mission. Carol and I will go after the shield generator; my hacking skills will be imperative for that point."

"And once it's down, I just carve it up like a New Year's roast turkey with the Mech Blade." Carol said. "That way they can't get it set back up after we do our damage."

"Meanwhile, Milla and Salamon should go for the Chaos Emerald." Tails said, looking to the two dogs. "Sorry Sal, but I don't think the Badniks are gonna cut it this time; could be too much of a risk of us getting found out."

Salamon nodded. "Alright, if you say so." He spoke.

"It's important we get this done quickly and efficiently." Tails spoke. "Time's already running short; our break has us at four days left until Eggman unleashes that Project IKARUS on our planets. We can't risk too much resting at this point."

"Alright, then answer me this Tailsy." Carol said. "Who are we gonna send up into that giant metal face to destroy it?"

Tails merely cracked a grin. "Why not send the one who had the most experience with dealing with that thing?"

"Classic?"

"Classic."

"Should we send Cyclone with him too?" Milla asked. "Those two are quite the formidable combination."

"It's our best bet." Natalya spoke again. "If Cyclone is anything like the Sash I trained when she was in the Scarves, she'll be more than capable for this infiltration."

Tails nodded. "Alright, then we need to move." He said, grabbing his blaster. "We've only got one shot at this, so let's make sure everything goes-"

After that the three Zeti had entered into the room from the teleporter, catching all three of them off guard.

"Sorry we're late." Zeena said.

"I brought donuts!" Zomom said, setting the boxes on the table.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tails asked.

"Amy wanted us to come over; we got reports we've got another one of our allies cooped up on the planet." Zeena spoke. "We're coming over to make sure we get them out."

Tails nodded. "Just be careful; we're short on time before Project IKARUS launches."

"Understood." Zeena spoke as the three Zeti went for the exit of the hideout.

"Alright, we have our missions, let's see through them to the end." Tails spoke.

The others nodded as Natalya activated the intercom. "All Scarf units ranks Scarlet A and above..." She spoke. "Prepare for combat."

* * *

It was high noon as the sun beat down blistering on the toxic waters of the once-beautiful Jade Creek, the large body of water becoming nothing more than a dumping ground for the waste from the captured Shang Tu. Large machines would be across the banks of the toxic river, pumping the liquid for something. Large construction towers would be at work slicing down the massive bamboo stalks of the forest, erecting what appeared to be large mechanical fans and statues of the mad doctor. Several robots would be scouring the area, searching for any kinds of intruders that would be nearby...

That was until a screeching sound echoed across the area as several motorcycles soon burst through the underbrush and attacked the bots, soon an all out fight taking place as the Badnik Forces would be engaging the Red Scarves in an all-out combat brawl. Soon enough Carol's crew burst through the brush and out onto the surface of the toxic water, skidding across the surface on the Mech Blade's hoverbike mode as the four were off up the river towards the captured Shang Tu...

"Gimmie an ETA Miles!" Carol said as she kept her eyes glued on the river, ready for evasive maneuvers in case things got ugly.

"Arrival at the captive Shang Tu in ten minutes!" Tails said, his ears pressed back against his head as he readied his blaster on the 'Lightning' and 'Chaser' options, soon seeing the hordes of Buzzbombers coming after the two. Tails opened fire on the bee robots as they fired back with their poised stingers, the high-energy plasma bolts striking the water and kicking it up as the bike fled upstream.

"They got way more air support than I was expecting!" Carol yelled, swerving around the shots. "How many are you taking out?!"

"As many as I'm locking on to!" Tails said back, still keeping his firing trained on the Buzzbombers, a new one coming every time another gets trashed, continuing to open fire on the oncoming insect horde.

Soon enough two other Buzzbombers wielding giant buzzsaws on their stingers would fly by the bike, soon going for the gigantic bamboo stalks before slicing through them with the saws, soon causing the gigantic tree-like plants to start collapsing... straight into the river, blocking the path forward.

"SHIT!" Carol yelled, skidding the hoverbike to a halt across the water surface as the Buzzbombers closed in. "We're cut off!"

Tails was still firing on the oncoming Buzzbomber horde, but the more he destroyed, the more just replaced the lost ones. "We're starting to lose ground, there's too many of them!"

"I can't put the blade into Shield mode! We'll fall in the water!" Carol yelled, a plasma shot soon whizzing by her head. "We're gonna get toasted!"

Tails gripped his eyes shut before soon Milla and Salamon had lept from the side and shredded through the Buzzbombers, sending the scrap straight into the water.

"Keep moving!" Milla yelled, soon rushing over as her eyes glowed as she lifted the bamboo trunk high enough for the bike to fly under. "We'll catch up!"

Carol nodded as she soon took off across the water on the hoverbike with Tails as Milla hurled the bamboo into an Eggman ship and smashed into pieces as it sank to the bottom of the creek. Skidding along the rocky bank, Milla would soon summon several Phantom Spheres in her hands as she lobbed them at any of the oncoming Motobugs rushing her and Salamon. The spheres exploded into several chunks, shredding through the oncoming Motobugs before the hissing sounds of mortar shells came from above. The shells would crash into the bank, explosions rocking the rocky shore as it blasted into the air high, soon raining heavy stones down on the two. Salamon grit his teeth as he soon formed a shield from his wrist bracelets, protecting the two hounds from the debris. With the rocks now scattered, Milla's elemental abilities activated as she soon lifted the mass of stones into the air with her mind, throwing them like a shower onto oncoming Badnik forces, sending them sprawling. Soon enough the two had reached another of the Empire's boats, Egg Pawns scrambling to the deck to try and take their intruders down,but were soon overhwelmed as Salamon and Milla tore through them like nothing.

Salamon smirked as he headed for the control deck. "Let's give that Empire a little noise shall we?" He commented, soon hot-wiring the boat for autopilot as it started down the other fork of Jade Creek, leaving its wake of toxic water as aquatic Badniks soon met their untimely demise...

"We'll be catching up with Tails and Carol soon enough!" Salamon said.

"Where's our access point into the fortress?" Milla asked.

"Looks to be a ventilation duck on the lower north side of the mountain!" Salamon said. "If I can just get into contact with the others..." Soon enough a comm line opened up to the wildcat and kitsune. "Alright guys, keep your eyes open for a lower maintenance vent on the lower side of the mountain! There's going to be our access point to invade the fortress from the inside out! Keep your guards up, we'll be closing in shortly!"

"Roger!" Both Tails and Carol said from the comm unit as Milla got to the front of the boat, readying her shields.

"We've got hostiles inbound!" Milla yelled, the Phantom Shields forming in front of the boat as it soon plowed through several aquatic Badniks in the way as they closed in on the mountain itself. The boat would skid to the side of the bank of the river as Tails and Carol were already waiting for the two there.

"Alright Sal, where's this vent thing you were talking about?" Carol asked, looking around the wall.

"According to the scanner I have, the vent should be somewhere along this wall..." Salamon spoke, checking along the place. "Let's see..."

"Oh! This must be it here!" Milla said, starting to try and open the vent covering a bit aways from the group. "Nnnngh! The cap's stuck!"

"Hold on, hold on. I got this." Carol said, her Mech-Blade switching to some type of claw device. Within moments she soon had the claw slam into the sides of the vent cover, soon ripping it off and opening up the chute. The four could definitely feel a strong vaccuming force coming from the mouth of it, leading inside.

"Looks like its acting like the tube transport system in Chemical Plant..." Tails spoke. "Hope you guys don't have back problems!" He said before curling into a ball at the entrance before the pipe sucked him in.

"Welp, looks like we've only got one way to go." Carol said, soon curling up herself as well and being shot into the pipe.

Milla and Salamon both nodded before they curled up as well and shot into the pipe, soon entering into the base...

* * *

The sounds of loud-whirling fans and scurrying Badniks filled the air inside the inner mountain base as the fans ventilated hard on the inside of the base, several Egg Pawns scampering around as inside security before banging was heard through the vents, soon enough the four being spit out at the bottom of one of the giant vent shafts. Tails and Carol skid to a halt while Milla lost her balance and Salamon faceplanted first into the floor.

"Alright, we're in." Tails spoke. "Let's get ourselves up to that shield generator and shut it down. You guys know your mission directives."

Milla and Salamon nodded, before Milla readied her powers and Salamon brandished the Phantom Claws he had, the two taking off down another path of the fortress as Tails and Carol began their ascent. Carol let her claws out as she soon scampered up one of the walls as Tails followed after with his flight, the two soon rounding a corner out of the shaft and into a short corridor before heading into the large deep excess of the base. Large dark blue metal support pillars stretched both horizontally and vertically across the area, large vent fans turning to filter out the smoggy air inside. Several scaffoldings and steel holdings would be across the area, intersecting and weaving between the large supports of the inner fortress.

"Looks like he's got a shitton of building inside here..." Carol said. "And chances are there's gonna be a load of Badniks. Keep on your toes."

Tails nodded, readying his blaster as the two took off down the slope and skidded around a corner onto the scaffolding. As they started their ascent up the place, spiked Technosqueaks started to swarm after the two from the walls.

"Company!" Tails said, seeing his blaster to the 'Fire' and 'Force' before opening fire, the fire bursts slamming into the Badniks and bursting them open... and several of their spikes shooting out into the walls in the process, acting like a chain reaction across the Badniks. The two would duck behind another pillar as the spikes whizzed past, soon taking off another pathway towards a higher area. Soon enough they'd take the fans in the floor as they blew them vertically upwards, soon skidding across the walls as the fans at the top changed their direction towards the forward direction, skidding across the walls as the spiked Technosqueaks scurried underneath, sparks flying from the wall before Tails and Carol dismounted and lept to the scaffold below, dodge-rolling as they continued their infiltration.

Soon spinning through another suction ventand spat out the other end, Carol would set off a switch on the floor, setting the entire base sector into a low-power mode, the fans barely moving their blades in any sort of motion as the two dashed through the area where the sharp blades would spin through. After a few moments the main power came back on as the fans fired back up to full force, Tails and Carol soon rounding the next corner as they skid across the scaffolding again, gaining height fast as they climbed higher and higher up the base's interior...

Soon popping out of another tube and continuing on, now a few of the newer model Egg Pawns would start their assault on the wildcat and kitsune with new weapons. Several of the Pawns would hang back with their new toys and open fire at an arc, lobbing the new energy grenades into the air to rain down on the two. Tails would skid past the energy blasts before opening fire himself on the Egg Pawns with his fire bombs, the napalm-like substance exploding on impact with the Pawns. Several of them would explode while some of the remaining ones took aim with their energy rifles, opening fire large laser blasts straight at the kitsune and wildcat. Carol grit her teeth before she soon kickflipped into the air, her Mech-Blade morphing into a high-power sniper rifle mode and taking aim at the Pawns while she was still in midair. Time seemed to slow down as she took aim and pulled the trigger multiple times. Several high-caliber bullets would slam through the Pawns and scrap them entirely as Carol landed back on her feet, taking off after Tails.

"How close are on homing in on the shield generator?" Carol yelled to Tails as they rounded another corner.

"Fifty meters enclosing!" Tails yelled as they soon skid around another corner, seeing an elevator entrance. "Just gotta get up!"

"Alright!" Carol yelled back as the two dove right into the elevator as the doors slammed right behind them. Soon enough the sounds of a jetpack filled the room as Heavy Gunned soon descended into the shaft, staring down the two with his bazooka slung over his shoulder.

"Well well, if it isn't the stray runts of the Resistance!" The Eggrobo said, crossing his arms. "You're little show out there at the Creek has caused a lot of damage to the empire's goods!And where exactly do you two think you're going to? Having a change of heart and wanting to turn yourselves in for your crimes against the empire?"

Carol grit her teeth. "As if we'd surrender to a lard-filled slimeball like that psycho!" She growled. "Especially at the hands of a robot mook with the actings of a sterotypical Empire City police officer!"

"HEY! I'll have you know Chief programmed me with all the knowledge of Empire law in existence! More than I can say for being a dirty runaway runt that lived on Kingdom property without a homeowner's permit and not a single mortgage payment to your name!"

"I built that house with Sash, it didn't need payment!" The wildcat growled. "Now get the hell out of our way before I make you!"

"Threatening to assault an empire police officer." Gunner said, taking out a notepad and writing it down. "That's gonna be at least an extra twenty years on top of the other charges your little rag tag group of furries accumulated, you're gonna be lucky if y-" Gunner's rant was almost immediately silenced as a fire bomb blasted his notepad out of his hands, sending it into a smoldering pile of paper a few feet away... with the barrel of Tails' gun still smoking for the shot.

Carol sighed in relief. "Thank you I was about to do the same thing myself." She said. "Now let-"

"Alright, I tried playing good cop, but clearly I gotta be bad cop for this one." Gunner growled, taking aim with his bazooka and aiming for the two. "We're skipping the trial and going straight to the sentence! And for you two, it's the death sentence!" With that, Heavy Gunner would open fire as a spewing of missiles came forth from his bazooka. Carol grit her teeth and hissed, soon rolling out of the way of the oncoming missiles as she charged for Heavy Gunner, scythe primed for a bisecting slash. Tails would dodge to the left and let loose his fire bombs from the barrel of his blaster, taking aim for the bazooka the Eggrobo itself was wielding. Not to fall for the assault though, Heavy Gunner would soon fly upwards sending down a rain of grenades onto the elevator platform floor, causing it to shatter apart and send the two falling downwards.

Carol snarled and slammed her scythe into the wall, skidding down the shaft as sparks flew across the shaft, Tails diving down while he whirled his tails to slow himself down, the two landing on a lower elevator platform as Gunner soon came down, launcher at the ready. Another missile round bust came from the barrel as several blue missiles went flying at the two. Carol grit her teeth as she soon swung her scythe in an arcing motion, slicing through the missiles like butter as they detonated in front of her, throwing up an ashen smoke across the ring as the other two missiles rocketed straight for the kitsune. Gritting his teeth, he'd soon swing his tails hard into the missiles, sending them back into the Eggrobo and blasting him against the wall. Tails gripped his blaster hard as he switched from the fire bombs to the short-range flamethrower, getting ready as Heavy Gunner burst back through the wall again, the siren on his head in full flash.

"Alright, you little outlaws are really starting to piss me off!" Heavy Gunner spat, holstering his bazooka as his optics narrowed. "Let's see how you like a taste of 'the big boys'!"

"...please never repeat that." Carol groaned as soon a bright flash came from Heavy Gunner's back, soon a large rack of missile's adorned across the jetpack, now readily taking aim at the two Freedom Fighters to blow them to shrapnel. Missiles flew already, exploding the platform as the two began to plummet a long distance down the shaft... almost like it never ends.

Carol grit her teeth as she readied her Mech Blade and Tails readied his blaster as the two weaved between the missiles in the air, Carol swinging her blade into the wall as sparks began to fly like mad, showering into the shaft as Tails took aim and let loose the stream of flames onto Heavy Gunner. A siren sounded as Gunner's jetpack started to overheat before a loud burst sounded, causing Heavy Gunner to spiral out of control into one of the shaft walls before ricocheting off it like a pinball, heading straight for Carol. The wildcat smirked wildly as she soon swung her scythe hard, slamming it straight into Heavy Gunner as he smashed through the wall and down in a spiraling motion outside the base...

"Alright, now that he's no longer interfering..." Tails spoke as Carol morphed the Mech Blade into a propeller stand as she lifted Tails and herself back up the shaft before reaching the upper path of the base, the two taking off down the corridor ahead as Carol skidded around the corner and sliced through more Egg Pawns.

"Right around here!" Tails said, whipping around another corner into the room, sealing the door behind the two. The two leaned against the door, panting heavily as they sank to the floor in exhaustion.

"Phew..." Carol sighed in relief. "Alright, now let's get that shield generator shut down." Tails nodded, the two getting up and reaching the generator itself. Tails would start working away at the hacking, soon penetrating into the shield generator's firewall and driving past it into the main framework.

"Alright..." Tails said. "I've got the readings inside the generator. I just gotta get past this last part and then you can go to town Carol."

"Excellent." Carol said, getting the Mech Blade ready for carving. Tails fingers would work away quickly, soon penetrating through the console and shutting down the shields for the Death Egg almost instantaneously.

"They're down!" Tails said, before leaping to the side as Carol soon started to carve up the shield generator like a roast turkey, soon reducing the shield generator to nothing but scrap metal and sparking circuit boards in a pile on the floor. The wildcat smirked at her handiwork, clearly proud of her destruction of the shield generator as she turned to Tails, giving a thumbs-up. "That oughta take care of it for the time being."

"Let's get to an exit and blow this joint before they find out we're in here!" Tails said, heading for the door with Carol.

"Fine by me!" Carol said as the two began to fight their way through to an exit...

* * *

Salamon and Milla meanwhile would be heading lower and lower into the tunnels under the fortress, following the trace of the Chaos Emerald's signal until they reached the deepest point underground of the base, hearing only the echoes of the footsteps and scampering Egg Pawns and Technosqueaks. Skidding around a corner, Milla would blast her way past several Egg Pawns before smashing into the next room, Salamon hot on her heels as he readied his Phantom Claws and shredded through the oncoming Technosqueaks coming at him, taking care not to send the spikes flying.

"Heads up!" Milla said, lobbing a Phantom Sphere right as an Egg Pawn was about to ambush Salamon from behind.

Salamon smirked back. "Nice save!"

Milla flashed a thumbs-up back before the two headed deeper into the complex, their footsteps echoing off the metal flooring as the giant fans slowly twirled overhead.

Skidding around a next corner, the two would soon find themselves face-to-face with a gigantic vault door, several feet taller than either of them. Milla, gritting her teeth, would soon summon several Phantom Cubes before firing them off into the door, striking it with as much ferocity as a basset can have. Soon enough the door crumpled under Milla's strength as it was blown to pieces, lying in scrap as the two dogs rushed inside the vault. At the far end of the room was the Emerald, sitting in a glass container on a metal pedestal, the white gem dimly glowing ever so much...

"Well, there it is..." Milla whispered, looking around. "It's quiet though... too quiet."

"Yeah..." Salamon spoke, before lowering his voice volume. "Shouldn't there be security in here?"

"There should..." Milla spoke. "We destroyed any of the Badniks guarding on the way here; no one should know we're in here right now."

"Well, I don't see any harm in tak-" Milla pulled Salamon back mid-sentence.

"Don't risk it." Milla whispered. "IF there's alarm triggers in here, we can't see their laser points. Allow me..." The air around her would start to fluctuate in energy as she slowly ignited a flame in her right hand, burning a bright blue while the temperature dropped around her left hand, soon a solid ice cube forming in it as she looked between the two objects. Taking a deep breath, she'd soon merge the two elements together as it soon became a steaming ice block.

"Alright...?" Salamon said, confused. "How's that help us?"

"Watch." Milla spoke, before sliding it fast and hard underneath the center of the room to the case on the other side. The steam would billow up into the room, the lasers starting to show themselves as the ice cube bounced all across the floor of the vault, soon disintegrating once all the lasers were revealed.

"Woah..." Salamon breathed. "Tighter than we thought..."

"Looks like this is gonna be my job." Milla spoke. "Stay near the entrance and watch for incoming Badniks." Salamon nodded in response as he peeked out the door as Milla soon began to stretch and squeeze her way through the laser grid, taking personal care not to accidentally trigger any of them like with a stray dog hair or her tail... or she could step on one getting down for that matter. Taking a deep breath, she'd carefully backcrawl underneath a set of low-set lasers, but soon run into a problem; the tight new sports bra as part of her outfit she received as a welcome-back gift from Amy was pushing her chest out too high, meaning it'd be impossible to get underneath the lasers without setting them off. Milla cursed to herself; this was the one time she had wished puberty hadn't been so generous to her!

"Shit..." She breathed, before sighing. "Alright, looks like I'm gonna have to complicate this a bit..."

"Huh?" Salamon asked. "What do you mean?"

"Look away for a second." Milla said, getting her back as close to the ground as possible.

"Wh-" was all that was able to come out of Salamon's mouth before she pulled her sports bra up, letting her breasts fall to the sides of her body now that they were unrestricted. Taking a deep breath, she'd soon slip under the laser, now with better room that her chest wasn't jutting upwards. Upon reaching the other side of the lasers she immediately reapplied her top snug, making sure it wouldn't slip.

"Alright, I'm through." Milla spoke, moving up to the capsule. "Now, to just-" She interrupted herself as she had turned to see Salamon's face a bright cherry red color. "You okay?"

"Uhhh... y-yeah..." Salamon said, trying to keep his blush down and failing.

Milla sighed. "Just be ready to catch the Emerald when I throw it to you." She said as she crept closer to the case. Taking one of her hands and spitting on it, she soon press it to the casing and twist, breaking off a perfectly circular chunk of the case, just big enough to reach through and grab the jewel. Taking a deep breath, she'd reach her hand through the case and grab the Chaos Emerald before quickly yanking it out before any detection could be triggered.

Milla tensed up for a second, waiting for the alarms...

...and nothing.

The basset sighed in relief. "Phew... we're in the clear." She said, soon turning and throwing the Emerald to Salamon. Salamon reached out to grab the gemstone, but soon had it fumble in his hands. Milla panicked as she gripped her ears tightly, her heart almost stopping as the gem flew into the air...

...and came back down as Salamon gripped it hard, almost triggering the alarm. Milla clutched her chest and sighed in relief; that was _way_ too close for comfort!

Salamon nodded as he slipped out the door, waiting for Milla to get out. After a minute or so, Milla slipped out of the door, soon shutting it behind her as the two exchanged nods and looked down the corridor. They were in the clear, all they needed to do was get out now...

* * *

Tails and Carol soon burst through the walls of the fortress, skidding along a rail system as they made their way back down towards their escape vent. Alarms were blaring loudly as the inside of the fortress was soon bathed in a red light, hordes upon hordes of Egg Pawns swarming in and opening fire on the fleeing duo. Carol twirled her Mech Blade as it soon became a stinger missile launcher as she fired of a shot into the horde. An explosion soon rocked the base as scrap metal was soon sent flying across the way, embedding itself into the walls as the sirens grew louder.

"A little warning next time!" Tails yelled as he continued to fire off fire bombs at the Egg Pawns.

"Sorry!" Carol said, as she took aim. "Heads up!" She yelled as she fired off another rocket burst into the group of Pawns, another explosion setting off a chain reaction across the Pawns as soon the base was starting to collapse.

"Shoot! Run!" Tails yelled as they soon moved fast through the base as supports and scaffolding would start to fall from above, breaking through several parts of the upper paths. Tails would jump and start whirling his tails as Carol would grab on to his hands, the two flying over the gap before landing on the other side and continuing to run. Several of the newer model Buzzbombers would start to fly after the two, stingers poised for firing on them, but Tails reacted fast and opened fire on the robotic bees with his blaster's fire bombs, exploding them entirely as the two fled the explosion and grinded the service rails back down towards the ground level, all the while the alarms were loud and blaring, alerting the Egg Pawns for evacuation.

It wasn't long before Tails and Carol reached the service vent where they infiltrated through, Milla and Salamon soon rushing out of the side alley as they came to the access vent.

"What in the world is going on?!" Salamon said.

"No time to explain, get in the vent!" Tails said, curling into the ball and shifting through the pipe.

"Move!" Carol said, following suit.

Milla and Salamon would soon follow suit into the vent as soon the entire inside of the base collapsed behind them. However, with the delay between Tails and Carol's entry and Milla and Salamon's entry, something went wrong, soon the tremors of the explosions shifting and changing the pipe exits...

Carol and Tails soon burst out of the maintenance vent as the two landed sprawling on the ground, face first in the bank of Jade Creek as Carol gripped her head in pain, picking herself up as she spat dirt out of her mouth, coughing. But they wouldn't get much time before the rumbling picked up as the mountain of Shang Tu was collapsing right behind them from its structural instability. Wasting no time, Carol grabbed Tails and booked it for the edge of the river as she morphed the Mech Blade into a bike as she took off across the water's surface, as the entire kingdom came crashing down behind the two, leaving nothing more than a gigantic mass of rubble and scrap metal, an entire kingdom decimated from the inside out...

"MILLA!" Carol yelled, scared that she lost her basset friend after so soon of getting her back from being captured...

...that was, until the sounds of clanking metal and smashed steel seemed to ring in the area. Carol's ears perked up as she looked around quickly, trying to see where the source of the sound was coming from...

...and soon got her answer as a stray pipe would eject Salamon and Milla as the flew through the air flailing before splashing down into the waters of the creek. Moments would pass as Carol quickly rushed up to the splash site, waiting to see a response...

...as a hand shot up from the murk, the white gemstone shining brilliantly. Carol sighed in relief as she pulled the soaking wet Milla and Salamon out of the water and onto the bike, recoiling a bit from the stench.

"Phew!" Carol coughed. "I thought we lost you guys for a second there! You both alright?"

"We're fine..." Milla coughed a bit. "A bit close for comfort..."

"I feel bad for Shang Tu though..." Salamon said, looking back at the kingdom. "The people that lived there aren't going to have anywhere to live once this war is over..."

Carol's ears drooped a bit. "It's a shame, really... but we've got bigger things to worry about." She said, revving her bike as she took off with the group. "Let's get back to the base and notify Mobius..."

* * *

It wasn't long before the group was back in the Red Scarves HQ, Milla handing the Chaos Emerald to Carol before she and Salamon headed off to the showers in the base to get themselves refreshed while Tails and Carol headed for the main communications room, walking in as Merga and Corazon were discussing something with Natalya. Natalya had then noticed the two and turned to them.

"Ah, welcome back." Natalya said. "Judging from your demeanor, I'm guessing that means you were successful in your endeavors of shutting down the shield generator?"

Carol nodded, holding up the Chaos Emerald. "And we've only got one more of these to find."

"It was a heavy price though..." Tails reported. "The damage from the fight... kinda leveled the mountain that the captured Shang Tu was on..."

Natalya fell silent. "...a hefty price indeed, but so long as they don't have it either, it's one we should be willing to pay." She spoke. "I presume you're here to contact the Mobius base?"

Tails nodded. "Our end has been completed, now we need to get Classic and Cyclone up there to finish the job."

"Very well." Natalya spoke, stepping aside as Tails and Carol approached the comm unit and started to contact the Mobian Resistance base about the good news...

* * *

 **The price of freedom comes with a heavy cost of losing a kingdom forever, as Tails's group manages to shut down the shield generator for the Death Egg itself. Now everything rides on the success of Classic and Cyclone infiltrating the Death Egg and taking it down for good. But how are they going to be able to do that? Tune in next time for Chapter 24: "Operation Scrambled"...**


	25. Chapter 24: Operation Scrambled

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 4_**

 _Chapter 24: Operation Scrambled_

* * *

"Alright, so everything's ready to go?" Amy said, looking over the comm info that Tails and Carol sent over.

"That's the plan." Tails said. "Now, we're going to stay here on Avalice until the Zeti get back from rescuing their companions. You'll need to find another way to get Classic and Cyclone to the Death Egg without them noticing, and fast. There's no telling when they might rebuild another shield generator for it."

"And we can't risk leaving the Zeti here by themselves." Carol said. "It's not that we don't trust them, but with Avalice still mostly under Egg-head's control, we can't risk leaving them for dead out here."

"We'll recon back once they get back with their missing teammates." Tails said. "But the rest of this operation is up to you guys. Don't let us down!"

Amy gave a salute as the kitsune and wildcat did the same, then the feed cut out. Sighing, the pink hedgehog walked over to the nearby planning table in the base, where Knuckles and Shade were discussing something. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Amy spoke.

"You're fine Amy." Knuckles answered. "So, the shield generator down?"

The pink hedgehog nodded in response. "We'll be ready to start phase two of our operation, but we need to find a way to get Classic and Cyclone onto that station without them finding out they're on there. More importantly, one that reduces risk of them getting detected in the first place."

"I might have an idea." Shade spoke, setting up a hologram of the Death Egg and Westside Island. "According to the recent events thanks to the Jackal Squad, the Spaceport at the Chemical Plant Zone is still active and making supply deliveries to the station itself. The guarding has been severely increased ever since the Milla incident, but there should still be some carriers to sneak Cyclone and Classic onto." Shade would zoom in onto a westward sector of the plant. "Out on this side of it there's supply ships that'll be small enough that should allow you to slip on by unnoticed. For some reason his fleet doesn't ID check the smallest supply ships in the fleet, meaning you should be able to skirt in underneath the radar and get to work."

"There's only one problem." Amy spoke. "Who's going to be able to get Classic and Cyclone to there safely?"

"I've been considering our team options." Knuckles spoke. "I feel it might be best that we send in Tangle and Whisper with the two to make sure they get there without a hitch."

"Are you sure about those two?" Amy spoke.

"C'mon, you've seen how well Tangle could get herself out of those situations." Knuckles said, smirking. "She's a hard-hitting fighter! She's clocked out several of those Egg Pawns with merely her tail! She's a natural-blooded fighter!"

"And Whisper herself has proven to be quite a technical prowess herself." Shade spoke. "I don't know what that device she has is exactly, but it's surprising how well of a marksman she is with that weapon of hers. Though I'm curious of how her weapon was able to synchronize with the spectrum energy of the Wisps..."

"We can worry about that later." Knuckles said. "The point is, these two would be perfect for this mission to get them in there!"

"...alright, if you say so." Amy spoke. "I'll get the two notified, and then get Classic and Cyclone ready for the mission ahead. You two head back to Hidden Palace and see if you can get those two Emeralds decorrupted."

Both Shade and Knuckles nodded as they walked over to the teleporter. Amy sighed a bit as she soon turned to head for the temporary rooms for the base for the time being, the hall with several entrances for the temporary residences. Walking down the empty corridors, her footsteps echoing off the pavement and the occasional sounds of dripping water from the ceiling, the flickering of neon across the tunnels as the hedgehog soon came to the one entrance with a latch door. Taking a deep breath, Amy would type something in on they keypad next to it before the door opened.

She didn't expect the sight on the other end.

Tangle and Whisper were both fast asleep on the bed, the wolf's cloak hung up on the coat rack and the Wispon sitting right next to them. Tangle was behind Whisper, hugging the wolf in a caring embrace as her tail was also draped over them like a warm cover. The Wisps would be alseep in the corner of the room in a huddle, light burbling sounds coming from them. A faint blush was visible on both Whisper's and Tangle's faces as they were in slumber, unaware of the pink hedgehog that had entered the room.

Amy would lightly knock on the frame of the door. "Uhhh... hello?"

Whisper's eyes would shoot awake as she soon whirled out of the bed and grabbed the Wispon, soon the barrel of the weapon pointing directly at Amy's face. The tension was thick for a few seconds as both stood there frozen...

...then Whisper deactivated the weapon, setting it to her side. "Apologies." She spoke in a hushed tone. "I thought you were an intruder."

"It's alright." Amy spoke. "I didn't realize you two were in-"

"Nono, it's fine." Whisper spoke. "We weren't doing anything important. Are we needed?"

Amy nodded in response. "We've currently got a mission set up for both you and Tangle to do, so once you two are ready, report to the main communications room immediately for briefing."

"Understood." Whisper said, bowing a bit before Tangle stretched and woke up.

"Aaaaah..." The lemur yawned out. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

"Alright, one set down..." Amy spoke to herself, looking around at the base. "Now... where would Classic and Cyclone be?" Her thoughts swirled around a bit as she tried to think of where the two would be...

Though once Cyclone's voice rang out, it didn't take long to find out where.

"Just like that! Keep doing that!" Cyclone yelled as Amy entered into the clearing of one of the manhole hubs, seeing an fight brewing between the hedgehog and the dragoness.

Classic would then ready another Drop Dash as he hit the ground spinning, slamming straight into Cyclone with a hard force.

"Oh yeah, perfect!" Cyclone spat back. "Ancestors above, you sure you don't still have some of that Master Emerald's power inside you or something?!" She gripped hard as she defended against the hedgehog's moves as she kept her defense up.

"Having fun there?" Amy spoke, soon drawing the attention of the two.

"Oh, didn't expect you Am-" Was all that Cyclone said before being slammed to the side by Classic's Drop Dash.

Classic stuck his tongue out at her in response to her guard dropped.

"FUCK!" Cyclone yelled, groaning in pain. "Hey, not fair! I was distracted!"

Classic now was taunting her with face motions.

"Please, both of you settle down." Amy sighed.

Both Classic and Cyclone stopped the arguing and listened in to Amy.

"Good." Amy sighed. "Now. Both of you report to the main communications room. Effective immediately."

The two took off faster than Amy could track.

Amy sighed, resheathing her hammer and walking off back to the main communications room. All four would be in the communications room as Amy came in, soon drawing the attention of the four.

"Alright." Amy spoke. "You four have been selected for the infiltration of the Death Egg in order to prevent whatever this Project IKARUS might be. Tangle, Whisper, you two are to help get Classic and Cyclone to a supply ship to help them slip by the defenses of the station and enter into the heart of it. From there, Classic and Cyclone are to find and destroy the core, taking down the Death Egg entirely and taking out one of Eggman's biggest weapons he's got."

"Yeah, and us with it!" Cyclone said.

"Hold on." Amy spoke. "Whisper and Tangle will be coming with you to get the ship out of there before the entire place detonates with you four inside it."

"Any Emeralds we gotta worry about?" Tangle asked.

Amy merely shook her head in response. "No Chaos Energy readings from inside the station; I think it's safe to say Eggman's got the last Emerald somewhere else entirely."

"So all we gotta worry about is trashing the place. Gotcha." Tangle said, cracking her knuckles.

"No." Whisper said. "Our job is escort. The little ones take care of the destruction."

"Why Classic?" Cyclone said.

"Well... he's kinda done this before." Amy spoke.

Classic nodded in response, giving Amy a thumbs up.

"Alright, you four ready for this?" Amy asked.

The four nodded in response to the question.

"Alright. Get moving." Amy said. "Dismissed."

* * *

The wind was howling as the light snow was blown in the current as the group made their way to the edge of the seaside spaceport, peeking over the ledge to see down onto the operations of the entire port. Several more ships were departing and heading into the atmosphere with others roaring over head of the group as they made their landing downwards onto the pads.

"Alright Whisper, got any visuals on which ship we nab?" Tangle asked, keeping her eyes trained on the landing pads.

"Negative..." The wolf quietly responded. "Most ships appear to be too large for hijacking..."

Tangle angrily muttered. "Just freakin' great." She said. "Well how are we supposed to get these two on one?"

"Patience." Whisper spoke. "Our opportunity will come, we just need to wait..."

As if on cue a small ship would zip overhead before docking down near a closer landing platform, the Egg Pawns already starting to unload the supplies onto the base.

"Excellent." Whisper spoke. "I'll draw their attention away. You get the two down there."

Tangle nodded, soon Classic spinning into a ball as the lemur picked him up with her tail, then hurling him as hard as she could as he sailed over onto a crane rig, hiding on the arm of it as soon enough Cyclone scampered down the steep wall and hid behind a set of supply crates. Tangle would then look to Whisper.

"Alright, now what's our cover for getting 'em in?" The lemur asked as she saw the wolf unsheath her Wispon.

"I'll handle that." Whisper said as the Cyan Wisp flew out from behind her and into the Wispon. "You focus on getting them in." The lemur nodded in response as she soon skid down the wall and took cover with Cyclone. With everything in place, Whisper set her mask down and locked in her targeting system. Her optics darted between ship to ship to ship... no, all of these were too close; it was too much of a risk for her group to be seen...

And then an idea struck her. Re-aiming, she looked off more towards the distant parts of the Chemical Plant Zone... way far off... and soon enough she found her target. It was a large capsule of the blue liquid chemical, located about 3000 meters from her location, near the other side of the plant. Her breathing slowed as time seemed to slow around her, her finger hovering over the trigger of the gun...

She clamped it, soon firing off a near-instantaneous laser shot that then pierced the chemical vat at the far side of the plant and detonated, causing alarms to activate as the Egg Pawns rushed from the pads off in the direction of the explosion.

"Now guys!" Tangle said as the three rushed the small cargo ship, slipping inside as Whisper brought up the rear. The door shut behind them as they soon took their hiding space in the cargo hold under the floor, which was thankfully mostly empty and able to leave them enough room for movement.

"Everyone in position?" Whisper spoke in a hushed tone, looking around the cargo bay.

The other three nodded.

"Alright." Whisper spoke. "Now we wait..."

* * *

It was a quiet and agonizing trip up to the Death Egg, and Classic was definitely getting stir-crazy, constantly shifting over and over again as he wanted to get out and run around.

"Calm down, little blue." Tangle said in a quiet tone. "We'll get there, we'll get there."

Whisper sighed. "This really is taking a while..."

Cyclone snorted. "Woulda just been easier if we had just taken a teleported to the station..."

"We don't know its coordinates." Whisper spoke. "And it would have them lead right to our base."

"Which means that our asses are dead, and they're up five Chaos Emeralds!" Tangle commented. "Meaning everything we worked for is completely shot in the foot!"

"Calm down, ancestors..." Cyclone growled as Classic was still stir-crazy.

But soon enough the shuttle would come to a slamming halt as it came down hard in the landing.

"HEY! Be careful with that thing!" An Egg Pawn's muffled voice came from above. "The Empire's still got seven payments left on that ship!"

"Seven?" Another Egg Pawn said. "Who pays for these things anyways? I thought the doctor doesn't need to pay for them with his position!"

"He may be crazy enough to take on the regular armies, but the IRS?" The Egg Pawn said. "He's not that insane."

"Why not just send Infinite to kill them?" The second said.

"He's a god of reality!" The first said. "You really think he's gonna waste time with them?"

"Good point." The second said.

"Now help me start unloading this crap!" The first said, and the shifting of cargo can be heard from above. The four below are tense as the shifting continued, soon enough the sound of the floor hatch starting to unlock. Classic and Cyclone ran behind a few crates where soon two Egg Pawns came down into the hold.

"Hey, who are-" Was all that came out before the sounds of deactivation happened, Classic and Cyclone coming back out to see Tangle and Whisper already having disabled the Egg Pawns, the wolf removing it's outer casing as she ripped the casing off.

"Excellent." Whisper spoke. "Tangle, start stripping the armor off yours."

"What for?" Tangle said.

"We don't have much time, move!" She said.

"Hey!" A voice came from above, another Egg Pawn's. "What's going on down there?" An Egg Pawn would come down the ramp soon afterwards, to see... two Egg Pawns.

"Uhhhh, sorry man!" The one Egg Pawn said. "We've just got a lotta stuff in here, we'll get it out soon enough okay?"

The Egg Pawn narrowed his optics... then shrugged. "Alright, just don't take forever." He said before walking out of the bay. Tangle would then remove her Egg Pawn helmet and sighed.

"You sure this is gonna work Whisper?" Tangle said.

"We just need to keep them believing." Whisper spoke inside her armor, before looking to Classic and Cyclone. "You two get going; you've got a station to take down."

Classic nodded before rushing out of the ship faster than the group could interpret. Cyclone sighed, a light smack hitting her forehead.

"Damn it..." Cyclone spoke. "Lemme go grab him before he gets himself killed..." She soon took off out of the ship without being seen by any of the robots before slipping off down one of the corridors of the Death Egg... but she'd suddenly notice something was very, _very_ off, especially from the sound of a loud shielding sound coming back online around the station.

"Hey, I thought the shield systems around the Death Egg were shut down." Cyclone said into her comm unit. "Amy, what's going on down there?"

"Looks like they're running back on auxiliary power now." Amy said. "Looks like they're not too happy about the attack on Shang Tu; I estimate that you and Classic only have about thirty minutes in there before they find out that you guys are already inside. Find the core and destroy it!"

"Roger." Cyclone said as she slipped across the metal walkways, keeping her pace as she leaped up to a higher platform, a light bridge extending up to the wall ashe soon ran up it and ran up the wall soon grabbing onto a device as she was pulled upwards as it latched onto a ceiling conveyor belt, being pulled along the ceiling of the corridor, out of view of the Badniks monitoring the halls. She kept herself silent as soon she dropped to the upper hallway as she continued onwards, still seeing part of this Death Egg was under construction as well as several moving pods were being shifted around the station.

"Looks like they're still building parts of it as we speak. I don't think they've finished construction on it yet!" Cyclone said into her comm unit.

"Keep your eyes open. Constructions means more Egg Pawns." Amy spoke. Cyclone would skid along the wall before ducking behind a corridor, letting a group of Egg Pawns pass by. She sighed. "Hopefully Classic's having an easier time than I am..." She muttered.

Meanwhile on a higher deck in the space station, Classic would be whizzing by several of the Badniks before they even got a chance to notice it was him. Soon enough he was stationed inside a ring transporter as the device revved him up in a Spindash before being flung through a series of light tunnels looping around a long corridor before it finally spat him out at the other side. Skidding to a halt, he'd look back down over where he was spat out to see if he needed to backtrack at all.

In hindsight, he could've ran the entire way there instead of taking the ring transporter. Woops.

Classic shrugged, continuing to run down the corridors before he had reached one of the more annoying aspects he had come to hate about the Death Egg: the annoying conveyor belt elevators lined with the spikes on the sides. Classic shifted his running speed to keep an even pace with the belt to make sure he wouldn't go into the spikes.

...he forgot about the missile launchers though. One slammed into his back as he was knocked forward off his feet, sprawling on the conveyor before it started pulling him back towards the spiked wall. Classic scrambled to his feet as he ran away from the spikes, being pulled back by the conveyor belt as he tried to get away from the spikes. Thankfully he'd soon be graced as the elevator hit the bottom floor and Classic faceplanted on the ground ahead. He'd sit back up as he shook his head, soon getting back on his feet as he zipped off down the next corridor. Skidding around the corner he'd soon slam through a Chainspike and keep running. So far no detection yet... but where was the core?

Cyclone was skidding around the corner just as she skidded up another light bridge and pushed off from it, soon attaching to the wall and skidding... up the wall? Turns out that gravity had shifted mid-way through the run and she was now running on the ceiling past the guard Badniks, avoiding detection entirely. Soon enough she skidded through a loop for a turbine before heading straight down a vertical shaft, slamming through a vent cover and slam through into the corridor below...

...right into Classic as he slammed straight into her, sending the two into a sprawling mess. Cyclone moaned in pain as she shook her head, seeing Classic sprawled as well.

"There you are!" Cyclone said. "Where the hell have you been?"

Classic signed.

"Oooooh, so you've been going the long way." Cyclone said. "Figures. No fun for you without a challenge, right?"

Classic gave a thumbs up.

"Alright." Cyclone spoke. "We've gotta be closing in on the core right now. Stay sharp."

Classic nodded before the two took off further down the corridor of the station...

* * *

"What's their status Amy?" Tails asked over the base comm unit as Amy monitored the two's progress.

"Well, they're closing in on the core of the station..." The hedgehog replied, keeping her eyes on the map radar. "Doesn't look like they're encountering much interference, so I don't think they've been detected yet. That's not what I'm worried about though..."

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't heard anything from Tangle or Whisper about their end of the operation." Amy answered. "I'm starting to think they've been compromised. Their radar signals haven't moved from the docking bay ever since they landed."

"Well, this is Classic and Cyclone's mission isn't it?" Tails spoke. "The only problem is gonna be organizing a rescue mission is if this whole thing goes under."

Amy sighed, hard. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She spoke. "For now, I'm keeping monitoring open until something goes fubar."

"Roger." Tails spoke. "Miles out." With that, the comm unit cut as Amy kept focused on the radar of the two moving dots...

* * *

The blasts of steam and exposed piping meant they were closing in on the core of the base. With the two rushing down the corridor, they'd soon come across an opening heading deeper into the station base. Classic, curling into a ball, soon whirled down the opening through a series of tubes throughout the base. Spikebonkers and Chainspikes would be patrolling the outer corridors, not even seeing the blue hedgehog whizzing by through the tube transport system.

Cyclone would be right behind him, although less than gracefully.

Classic would slam out of the exit port, skidding to a halt as he soon found himself in the gigantic core room of the Death Egg itself. The gigantic orb in the center of the room was whirring with the several outer rings sparking, jolts of electricity jumping from the rings to the orb's frame itself. Classic smirked as Cyclone soon exited face-first from the piping system, soon starting to approach the core itself...

"That's far enough you two." A voice said in the same room from behind them. Both Classic and Cyclone would whirl around just in time to see Heavy King drop into the room, soon Heavy Shinobi dropped right by his side. "Thought you could be clever enough to sneak in here with the help of your little Resistance runts, did you?"

"Ho-"

"No need to explain." King interrupted, holding up a hand. "Heavy Gunner was more than kind enough to fill myself and Heavy Shinobi in on the details."

Classic made a motion acting as if he wanted a fight.

"Hmph, as if I would want to waste my own time with your pathetic excuse of a team." Heavy King remarked. "It'd be beneath me."

"Quit stroking your own damn ego." Cyclone growled. "And if you don't move within the next thirty seconds I'm going to remodel your ass into a new hood ornament!"

"Now resorting to petty threats are we?" Heavy King spoke again, clearly unamused.

"Perhaps this insubordinate needs to be taught a lesson..." Heavy Shinobi spoke, brandishing his signature katana. "Leave this to me, leader."

"Very well then." Heavy King said, slamming his sceptre onto the ground as it charged the ninja Eggrobo with Phantom Ruby energy. "Do not fail me." And with that, he had lept out of the room.

Classic immediately went on the offense, charging up a SpinDash and shooting straight forward at Heavy Shinobi. The robot reacted lightning fast and had already slashed in front of him by the time Classic got even close, soon encasing the hedgehog in a block of ice as he slid back towards Cyclone. The dragon growled in annoyance as she soon shoved Classic back at Heavy Shinobi, the robot merely volleying the hedgehog back before leaping into the air, sending a set of spinning Asterons straight for the dragon. Cyclone dodged out of the way as the Asterons detonated, sending a shower of spikes in their cardinal directions, some embedding into the ice block Classic was in. Classic squirmed in the ice block before shattering it, soon taking off at Heavy Shinobi again. The Eggrobo would be matching toe-to-toe with Cyclone in combat as he used a free hand to brandish his katana and slice at Classic again, encasing him in ice once more.

"Can you not get frozen for one second and help me out here?!" Cyclone practically hissed before being sharply slammed across the face by Heavy Shinobi's metallic foot. She was sent sprawling across the floor, blood oozing from her nose as Heavy Shinobi soon leaped over her, an Asteron spinning her way. Cyclone grit her teeth as she rolled out of the way before it struck the metal floor and detonated. Leaping back to her feet, she'd notice Shinobi brandishing another Asteron for a fight, and immediately her mind raced as she dashed forward and slid under the Eggrobo as he flicked the robotic starfish shuriken at where Cyclone was.

"Only got one shot...!"

With a deep breath, she drove her feet upwards into Heavy Shinobi's chassis, launching him upwards in a spinning motion as Classic broke out of the ice block again. Seeing his chance, he'd charge up another SpinDash before rocketing forward, slamming into the Eggrobo and launching him against the wall, leaving a sizable indent. Classic stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at the Eggrobo before thumbing his nose and mocking him.

"Nice shot." Cyclone said as Heavy Shinobi came out of the indent. "Looks like he's not down yet though, keep sharp!"

Heavy Shinobi's optics glowed as the Ruby's power activated. Soon enough his speed was accelerated through the roof as he started 'blinking' around the room, the Ruby's power making him almost impossible to track with the robot before it attacked, encasing her in ice as she slid across the core room floor. Classic gritting his teeth, rushed straight for the Eggrobo's position... only for five to materialize and slam Classic into the wall, pinning him down. Classic grit his teeth as he tried to struggle and squirm out of his position...

...that was until Cyclone slammed in from the side in a Dragon Boost, knocking the shadow clone Badniks away from Classic.

"You okay lil' blue?" Cyclone asked.

Classic, despite being face-first on the floor, gave a thumbs-up.

"Alright then, we've still got some fight left, let's take it right to them!" Cyclone said, rushing one of the Heavy Shinobi shadow clones. Classic would rev up a SpinDash as he rushed two of the others. Cyclone soon engaged the robot in hand-to-hand combat as she swept out the robot's feet to get an upper hand, delivering a crushing chop immediately to the robot's lack of a jugular. Leaping back as the clone collapsed, Cyclone would soon go help out Classic as the two took out the other shadow clones together in a team attack, scrapping them entirely as they soon turned to the last Shinobi.

...they failed to realize the real one has long since left the battle, with the copy being their only thread left in the battle.

Classic and Cyclone would have the robot clone on the ropes, soon having it with it's back against the wall. With nowhere else to run to, the copy would pull out a massive Asteron shuriken, soon whirling around intending to cleave it in two with the gigantic machine. Cyclone had a lightbulb go off on her head; she had an idea!

"Classic!" Cyclone yelled to the hedgehog. "On three, attack that Asteron!"

Classic nodded as the Heavy Shinobi clone soon lobbed the Asteron straight at the two. Classic and Cyclone both smirked as the large explosive drew nearer...

"THREE!" Cyclone yelled, before the two attacked the Asteron from underneath, slamming it over them... and straight into the core itself, jamming the rings and causing several of them to break off entirely. Alarms sounded loudly as Cyclone and Classic soon finished off the last clone.

"Alright, the core's outta commission! Let's get back to the shuttle!" Cyclone yelled, the two soon taking off back through the tube as explosions started to wrack the station. Egg Pawns were rushing around in a panic as Classic and Cyclone would burst through the horde, keeping the pace ahead of the alarms as the gigantic metal doors started to slam shut behind them, sealing the halls.

Out in the landing bay, things were in chaos as Egg Pawns were scampering and running like mad to trying to already repair the doomed station. Both Tangle and Whisper would be inconspicuous as they were starting to fire up the engines for the small shuttle.

"Get it ready for a boost." Tangle said. "We gotta blow the place the instant those two munchkins get in here before the entire station goes up with us in it!"

"I am working as efficient as I can, Tangle." Whisper hissed, typing into the shuttle's mainframe. "I'll need cover, though."

"Relax, I got your back, we're pals, remember?" The lemur responded, a cocky grin on her face as she rushed to the back of the ship, starting to slam the Egg Pawns away from the hatch as more kept coming at it. Tangle's tail would be smashing through three to four at a time, sending the scrap metal sprawling across the battlefield as they still tried to swarm her.

Soon enough Classic and Cyclone would rush out of the one corridor, Badniks flying in pieces as they rushed for the ship. "START THE ENGINES!" Cyclone yelled, the two diving in as the hatch to the ship closed.

"Almost ready..." Whisper said as a blast rocked the ship, nearly throwing the other three of their feet.

"We need to hurry!" Tangle yelled.

"Punching it!" Whisper would full-blast the throttle, throwing the three back against the walls of the ship as the shuttle shot out of the docking bay as the Death Egg violently detonated into several chunks as they fell and crashed onto the surfaces of Avalice and Mobius. Whisper slunk back in the pilot's seat, sighing in relief from the success of the mission.

"You guys did it!" Tangle exclaimed, jumping in place. "I-I can't believe it, you actually did it!"

Classic smirked and posed, essentially asking if there was any doubt if they would be able to do it.

"It was natural that we'd be able to pull it off." Cyclone said. "Now, let's report back to the base."

"Agreed." Whisper spoke as she guided the craft towards Mobius...

* * *

Needless to say, the doctor was NOT happy about what had happened.

"YOU LET THEM WHAT?!" His voice bellowed in the meeting room, nearly everyone cringing from the volume that he had yelled at.

"Well, this is a massive screw-up from the big leagues..." Zavok grumbled. "How the hell can you think that allowing them to explode one of our biggest weapons was a good idea?!"

"It was compromised the instant they set foot." Heavy Shinobi spoke. "There was no choice."

"Shinobi, I'm very disappointed with you." Heavy King spoke. "This is why you cannot abuse the Ruby's power when you overclock. Overclocking the Phantom Ruby for abuse will only lead to trouble."

"And the costing of my prized space weapon!" Robotnik growled. "I can't afford any more setbacks. Zavok. Tell Zik to tighten security on his prisoner. Absolutely no one, and I mean, NO ONE is allowed anywhere near that point without Empire credentials. Any violations of this are to be immediately terminated. Understood?"

"Yes, doctor." Zavok spoke.

"Good. Do not fail me." He growled as the Zeti left the room. "I'll end this war no matter what measures I have to go to..."

* * *

 **An exploded Death Egg rains down on the Empire as Classic and Cyclone succeed in their mission and return to home safely. But with the Zeti still broken apart, Pangu Lagoon is the next destination for the Zeti trio in search for their allies. Will they succeed? OR will they succumb to the Ruby's effects? Find out next time in Chapter 25: "Tropical Coast Terror"...**


	26. Chapter 25: Tropical Coast Terror

**_..._**

 ** _Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3  
Phantom Forces  
Act 4_**

 _Chapter 25: Tropical Coast Terror_

* * *

 _This chapter has been written by the one and only WritingPoke, author of the currently ongoing Frosted Wings series!_

* * *

The deafening roars of the waterfalls in the ruins echoed throughout the entire structure as the phantom Zik slowly trudged down the corridor to the crystalline orb that held the real Zik inside it, sitting in the middle of the small shrine-like room. The phantom merely smirked, looking at the meditating real counterpart inside the crystal.

"Hmph, how humorous." The fake Zik spoke, crossing his arms. "Meditating in some sort of flea-brained attempt to try and escape again?"

"That, is what you think." The real Zik responded from within the crystal. "I know I will get out of this, one way or another."

"You really think you will?" The fake Zik spoke.

"It's not a matter of if, you ignorant copy." The real one spoke from within the crystal. "It's a matter of when."

The fake Zik merely smirked before being approached from behind, turning to see who approached him. None other than the giant red Zavok had appeared in the room, though the one in the crystal knew this one was an impostor.

"Ah! Zavok. So nice of you to join your master." Zik spoke. "Now then, what brings you here while I am interrogating this impostor?"

"There's news from Lord Robotnik I am to deliver regarding our... prisoner." Zavok spat while looking at the crystallized Zeti. "He's not to be let escaped under any reasons whatsoever. Any attempts on escape are to be met with immediate termination of the intruders."

"Ah, so business as per the usual of our kind." The fake Zik spoke. "Not an issue. They won't survive getting down here anyways with how far removed we are from the surface."

"Even so, we must exert caution." Zavok spoke. "There's no telling when their allies will arrive to try and free this whelp."

"Whelp?" The Zik inside the crystal said. "I suggest you curb your tongue while you still can. Once I am freed from here, your tongue is getting the whipping first."

"Your idle threats are falling on deaf ears, old man." Zavok growled, before turning to the fake Zik. "The doctor's orders are final; no exceptions."

"I assure you, we will be fine." The fake Zik spoke. Zavok grunted in response and turned, walking out of the ruined room as the fake Zik continued guard...

* * *

Outside, the heat was sweltering, high temperatures reaching an upwards of 98 degrees with a humidity of nearly 78%. The rocky cliffs were slightly crumbled with new unnatural rock formations in hexagonal shapes and large round planetoid-like structures slammed into several parts of the ruins, some destroyed from the crash of the unnatural formations. The water seemed to twist and curve in unnatural ways away from the gravity. The rocky purple cliffs were intermittently interrupted by the grey rocky cliffs and crystal sand beaches of Tropical Coast Zone, the palm trees drooping in the heat of the area. And of course, the place was crawling with Badniks, several Blowfish Transporters landing to unload the new troops as the Clucker turrets kept watch from the higher cliffs, their ammo locked and loaded to fire like snipers on any intruders coming their way.

Of course, security would be tight when the three Zeti arrived on the upper ridge, keeping low to keep their cover from being seen as Zeena looked down over the cliff edge at the Badnik forces below.

"Looks to me like they've got a lotta security down there." Zeena whispered. "Nearly several hundred Badniks down there alone, not counting the Clucker snipers across the cliffsides around here..."

"So... whadda we do?" Zomom asked.

"Well... we need to take those Cluckers out first thing." Zeena spoke. "Zomom, you might be powerful enough to destroy the Badniks in the valley, but a well-aimed sniper shot will ruin everything. If we're going to level this place and find our friend, we need to make sure we take as minimal risk as possible."

"So what's the game plan?" Zazz asked.

"Well, let me get to that." Zeena spoke. "I'll - and I can't believe I'm saying this - offer myself as a distraction to draw their attention away from you guys while you act accordingly. Zazz, I need you to take out the Clucker snipers across the cliffs and cover for Zomom so he can take down those Blowfish Transporters. The sooner those are down, the easier it will be on our end to not have to worry about reinforcements."

"Got it." Zazz said.

"Can I do the thing to them?" Zomom said.

"The thing?" Zeena asked.

"You know, the thing!" Zomom said.

"Ooooooooh, that thing." Zeena said. "Well, as long as you don't hurt yourself, go nuts."

"Woo!" Zomom said as he lept over the ridge and started plodding down the rightmost side, out of view of the Cluckers.

Keeping her cool as best she could, Zeena slowly crept down the cliffside towards the lower basin. Her claws dug deep into the rock face, making sure she had a firm hold of the side she was scaling down before slowly reaching a lower ledge, ducking behind one of the out of place palm trees still dotting the terrain. Peeking out slightly, she could still see the Badniks still monitoring their positions, looking for intruders.

Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Alright... all I gotta do is distract them with my charms, and that'll leave time for Zazz and Zomom to do their things..." Taking a deep breath, Zeena would strip out of her sweater and her beanie, unraveling her scarf and wrapping the cloth around her chest region again. Swallowing hard and clearing her mind, she soon embrace the 'lusty' side of her personality as she readied her distraction...

"Ohhhhh boyyyys...~" She spoke in a sultry voice, stretching herself out under in front of the palm tree in full view for any of the Badniks to see. Almost immediately the Egg Pawns would turn in attention to see the female Zeti sprawled out in a seductive pose, her eyes filled with allure, lust, and a hunger...

Several of the Egg Pawns would be mesmerized by the beauty of the Zeti as they stumbled towards her, the Cluckers turning and keeping their turrets locked on Zeena in case she tried to pull anything funny. Zazz, meanwhile, would be sneaking up the cliff face towards the closest Clucker turret, getting ready to launch a rip and tear attack...

...that was, until several icicle spikes slammed down onto the Clucker turrets, destroying them entirely and throwing Zazz off his mojo. The Zeti would flail his limbs from the slamming icicle spikes before tumbling down the cliffside... and straight onto an Egg Pawn, completely throwing Zeena off of her sultry act.

"Z-Zazz?!" Zeena yelled, getting to her feet.

"WE'VE BEEN COMPROMISED!" Zazz yelled, prompting Zomom to rush out from his spot and gut-check one of the Blowfish Transporters straight into another one, exploding the two entirely as the Badniks were sent sprawling in the confusion. Soon enough an all out brawl erupted in the valley as it was the three Zeti vs. an entire regime of Badniks at the same time, what's more being that their magnetic field manipulation abilities on them would be useless as they were summoned by the Phantom Ruby and as a result couldn't be controlled. Zomom would almost immediately suplex another Blowfish Transporter as Zeena used her energy tether on her snowman head and swung it like a mace, sending the Badniks sprawling in scrap metal as Zazz kept tearing his ones from the inside out like some sort of demonic Xenomorph.

Though the fighting would soon be coming to an immediate and immeasurable halt as several gigantic icicle spikes slammed down, completely obliterating any of the other Badniks in the area... yet leaving the Zeti's completely unharmed. All three would be in complete shock as they looked around at the metallic carnage around them, complete with an icicle garnish and light frosting.

"What the..." Zeena breathed, looking around the area. "Wh-who's there?! Who's here with us?!"

Zazz growled, his claws sharp and his eyes darting around the area for the intruder as Zomom stomped the ground. The three of them were looking ready for a brawl before a figure appeared on the uppermost spire of ice, looking down on the three.

"You three can drop the acts now, I've got no beef with you at all." A voice came from the figure, a white female avian.

Zeena almost recognized the voice instantly. "You! You're the one from Shuigang!"

"Yeah, so what if I am?" The avian asked, jumping down from the ice spike and landing in front of the Zeti trio. "Because unless you're one of those Phantom whatchamacallits, then there's absolutely no reason for you to try and fight me."

"Waitwaitwait, hold up. You two know about each other?" Zazz asked Zeena and the avian.

"Hanna and Rob have told me about her." Zeena responded to Zazz, glancing over at the avian. "She's apparently-"

"Not important." The falcon coldly interrupted. "Also, I'd suggest putting some damn clothes on, but given your choice of wardrobe is a sweater, beanie and scarf in 90 degree weather, then you having your _assets_ out is certainly a lot better than whatever the hell you were thinking before getting here."

"Anyways, why are you here, lady?" Zazz asked the avian. "You gonna warn us about somethin'?"

"Yeah. Long and short is, increased security around Blue Ball Senior." The falcon spoke. "It'll be no use trying to sneak around or pull the little slut act Zeena was trying to do, since you're going to get caught anyways. No doubt the badniks have already radio'd the others about you."

"It's _Master Zik._ " Zeena snapped at the falcon, the avian responding with a mere rolling of the eyes. "And secondly, that's really no thanks to you."

"Look, you were going to be found out anyways." The falcon responded. "Doing that whole act over here of all places would've only hurt your chances of rescuing your shriveled-up blueberry of a master anyways if _he_ were around." She'd then notice the badniks' Phantom Ruby energy leaking out of their shells, causing them to disintegrate slowly. "And chances are, we don't have much longer before the heavy artillery gets here..."

* * *

The quartet made their way to the door leading into the large, fortified compound which held Master Zik. The cool, air-conditioned atmosphere was practically bliss to the avian, although the Zetis did not care much for the difference, if at all.

"So… Uhh… What's the plan?" Zomom asked the group.

"Like we did earlier." Zeena began. "We snea-"

However, the green Zeti was interrupted by the falcon running into the compound without a second thought.

"HEY! GET BACK OVER HERE!" Zeena yelled after the avian, yet Zazz and Zomom gave chase. "Ugh… This is unbelievable…" The zeti groaned as she made her way into the compound behind the trio.

"…Blackjack." An Egg Pawn spoke as he laid down a spread of Eggman Empire-branded playing cards, each one with the doctor's face prominently shown at the front, alongside a corresponding number. 6, 7,10, and King were shown.

"…We aren't even playing Blackjack." Another Egg Pawn spoke to his comrade. The area was swarming with Egg Pawns performing manual labor around the compound, with Clucker turrets standing guard for the rumored intruders, with Slicers and Shellcrackers wandering around the area on patrol.

This peace would not last, however, as the sight of a rather determined avian sprinting through the entrance caused alarms to blare all over the facility, with the Zeti trio following closely behind.

"I-INTRUDERS!" An Egg Pawn shouted, taking aim at the avian at the front. The Slicers immediately went to launch their boomerang claw-scythes, the Shellcrackers launching their oversized claws at the Zeti, and the Cluckers opening machine gun fire at the avian. It was absolute chaos, and the falcon was the one being focused.

Zeena got behind Zomom, as he was able to take the brunt of the impacts while Zazz got behind a Slicer and snapped its head clean off, laughing maniacally. "COME ON! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!" The thin, purple Zeti grinned as he took the Slicer's scythe and threw it, cleaving through a good portion of the enemy Badniks.

The falcon, meanwhile, yelled as two ice hands began to punch the bullets before they could hit her, going for the Cluckers. When she got into range, their guns were frozen shut, causing the Badniks to self-destruct from the overbearing pressure. She then fired several icicles, piercing a few of the Egg Pawns.

Zeena used her energy tether to grab one of the Egg Pawns and began to twirl it around in the air. "Zomom! Throw me!" The green Zeti commanded the large, yellow Zeti. Zomom grabbed Zeena and threw her over one of the Shellcrackers, which immediately fired at her. The green Zeti then took the opportunity to slam the Egg Pawn into the oncoming claw and, when she landed, flip the Shellcracker and the Egg Pawn, which was stuck onto it with a giant claw in its abdomen, onto the ground, shattering the two of them.

"Alright! Now _that_ was fun! When can I do that again?!" Zazz cackled triumphantly.

"Good news: _not too long!_ " Zeena replied as more reinforcements soon swarmed the area, the Zetis and falcon becoming completely surrounded by the new waves of Egg Pawns, Shellcrackers, and Slicers. The group went up behind each other, each one staring down a group of enemies in front of them.

"Alright, genius, got any _more_ brilliant ideas, or are we just going to get torched by plasma fire?!" Zeena shouted at the avian.

"You're right. _You_ are." The falcon responded as she flew into the air, busting into an air vent in the ceiling and crawling on through."

"Oh, that MOTHERFU-"

"One of the intruders is crawling through the air vents!" An Egg Pawn interrupted the green Zeti before she could finish her expletive. "Activate the interior Asterons!"

"Uh oh... I don't think that birdie is gonna make it out..." Zomom spoke.

"Who cares, she got us into this mess, and now we have to fight our way _out_ of it!" Zeena snapped. "Come on, let's beat the bolts off of these guys!"

The three Zetis got into their combat stances as they prepared to fight off the incoming waves of enemy Badniks that surround them from all sides, Zazz with his stolen Slicer blade, Zeena readying her energy tether, and Zomom eating one last sandwich before they charged into battle against the endless horde…

* * *

And as for the falcon, she got into the vents relatively unharmed for the most part. The vents, being vents, were obviously dark, save for the beams of light that shone underneath to circulate the cooling air throughout the building. In the distance, fans would be heard softly whirring to circulate yet more air. _Knowing these guys, they're going to be undoubtedly activating some interior defenses…_ She thought. And then, a sheet of ice formed over her from head to toe several inches thick, acting as protection from any attack she may come across within the confines of the ventilation systems.

And thus, the falcon began crawling through the vents, the ice armor being rather cumbersome, yet an absolute necessity if she desired to survive against whatever the Eggman Empire had installed in the defenses. Her suspicions would be confirmed when she heard a soft beeping to her left, and two small spikes shot into her armor, deeply penetrating, yet not piercing her skin. _Of course. Asterons. My lucky day._ The falcon thought, grunting as she moved along. She plucked one of the spikes out of her armor and froze the protective suit back together as she continued to crawl through, making a sharp left.

When she did, she thumbed the spike she had just plucked out, and flicked it to the other end of the ventilation system. It met metal, yet it was thin, and seemed to be moving excessively quickly. It was one of the fans that was cooling down the whole building. _That's not it… Then it has to be the right way, then._

Taking a complete 180, she crawled to the other end instead, taking the other spike and thumbing it, preparing for another Asteron attack, until she looked up. There, she saw an Asteron crawling on its spikes to a new location, like some sort of twisted spider. She snatched it from the ceiling, and held it close to her, yet not so close that if it were to suddenly launch out its spikes, it would not pierce any part of her body. Crawling yet more, she came across a four-way intersection in the ventilation.

"Well, look at that, little guy…" The falcon spoke. "You'll actually be useful for once." Soon after, she threw the Asteron onto the ground. It then burst its spikes, shooting into the corners of the vent near her, and the three other spikes shot straight ahead, to the left, and to the right. To the left, a similar sound to the fan she just broke was heard. To the right, another Asteron was shot, destroying any chance it had of surprising her. And straight ahead… Nothing but the thud of a metal wall.

 _…Alright. That one's a complete dead end. It might be what we're looking for…_ She thought, soon crawling to the location… And beneath her lay the room she really was looking for: The room which held Master Zik and his fake, Phantom Ruby-powered clone.

"Hm? What was that?" The fake Zik commented, only to have a small Asteron spike fall in front of him. He gripped the spike tightly. "Hm. So one of the intruders really _has_ been crawling through the vents… But last I heard, Zor was still contained within Relic Maze…"

The falcon grinned. _Nice going, asshole. You just gave me a bonus gift on top of what I was looking for…_ She thought, then turning around…

…Only to see a bunch of Asterons angrily looking at her, blocking her path.

"…Shit." Was all she could mutter before the Asterons shot _violently_ towards her…

* * *

"Ugh!" Zeena growled, using her Energy Tether, which was holding a Slicer's blade, to decapitate an Egg Pawn. Strewn about the group of Zetis was a large pile of varied Badniks that they had ruthlessly demolished. Zazz was panting through his physical exertion, and Zomom had various burns on his thick body. Overall, the trio were gravely injured due to the stunt the falcon had just pulled.

"That ASSHOLE!" Zeena growled. "I swear, she'd _better_ have a reason for leaving us like that!"

Her exclamation would only be met by a mildly bloodied falcon falling from the air vent, with several spikes sticking from a layer of ice armor. She shakily stood up and dispersed her ice armor, applying some pinkish-red paste over her wounds. The Asteron spikes fell to her sides soon after.

"Holy shit, she got into way more of a fight than we did!" Zazz exclaimed. "Hey, lady, how many bots were you bashing without me, huh?"

"If you went with me… You would've died, numbnuts." The falcon grunted as she finished applying the paste, stretching soon after. "I went to find the actual place your leader was being held."

"And?" Zeena asked, raising an eyebrow. "We almost _died_ thanks to you!"

"Yes, but I also got the location of Zor in the process." The falcon responded, immediately silencing the green Zeti. "Relic Maze. It's a temple near the intersection of the three Kingdoms and used to be where the old Kingdom Stone was held before the Brevon Incident a while back."

"…Well then, maybe your little stunt was worth something after all." Zeena apologized. "But next time, you should tell us when you are going to do something like that!"

"Yeah, and put all of us in a worse state in the long run?" The falcon asked. "I didn't think so."

"Uhh, shouldn't we get going for Zik?" Zomom asked the group.

"Oh, well look at that, _someone_ here actually has some hustle, and it's the slowest one of us!" Zazz sneered. "Come on, I want to see more bots bashed!"

"More than likely we took care of every Badnik in the compound." Zeena responded. "All that's left guarding Zik is-"

"Zik." The falcon interrupted. "There are two of them. The real one is stuck in a crystal of some kind, while the other one is trying to keep guard."

"Which means that this fake one probably fights with the same ferocity as the real deal…" Zeena shivered.

"Doubtful. The Ruby copies are typically imperfect." The falcon replied to Zeena. "Although you are right in us having to be more careful when facing him."

"…Right. Let's get moving!" Zeena spoke soon after, the group running alongside her towards the chamber that was holding Master Zik in captivity, the falcon leading the charge…

* * *

The group arrived near the chamber holding Master Zik, and were peeking past a corner. Leading into the chamber was an unusually long and wide hallway, with not much else going on. But what was strangest of all regarding the site was the fact that the Fake Zik was no longer there. It was almost as if he vanished.

"Well, seems like he left!" Zazz grunted. "Shame, I was looking forward to tearing him in two!" He spoke, going into the hallway.

"Zazz, wait!" The falcon and Zeena shouted in unison, going after him.

"I got you right where I want you…" The Fake Zik's voice menacingly reverberated around the area. The group was dumbfounded, looking around for the source of the voice… Only for them to realize it was behind them the entire time.

The Fake Zik was standing at the edge of the hallway, on top of a giant watermelon with his infamous staff in hand. He stood there, grinning at the Zeti trio and falcon with intense bloodlust. "For the Empire, I will make _sure_ you whelps never come back from the dead!"

"Shit! Run!" Zeena shouted, running quickly. The falcon, Zazz and Zomom took after her, as the diminutive cyan Zeti took after them, rolling atop his watermelon.

"Hah… Hah… Ooohhhh maaaaan…" Zomom panted, trailing behind. "I want my mommy!"

The falcon looked behind her and saw Zomom was not fit enough to outrun the watermelon. Undoubtedly, he would be flattened. _You've gotta be kidding me…_ She thought, stopping her run soon.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Zeena shouted after the falcon, only to have her eyes widen at the oncoming giant watermelon.

The falcon _slammed_ into Zomom's behind with an ice fist, causing him to launch forward on his stomach. Acting quickly, she took the opportunity to jump onto his back and freeze the ground beneath him, making the rotund yellow Zeti act as a sled, quickly gaining speed through the falcon's efforts in pushing him via two ice hands.

"Hm, impressive, feathered one!" Fake Zik taunted. "But it is not enough!" He soon began to throw oranges in front of him, bowling over to the falcon and large Zeti. In response, she quickly turned Zomom away from the oranges, swerving him from side to side in an attempt to throw off Zik's aim.

"Hey, geezer!" The falcon taunted. "For someone who eats healthy, you sure have a shitty bowling arm!"

"Grr! I'll have you hold your tongue, avian!" Fake Zik growled, pulling out three bananas and throwing them towards the group. The falcon ducked, yet it seemed as if Fake Zik wasn't even aiming for her…

…He was aiming for Zeena and Zazz instead!

"Oh, you have to be kidding me!" The falcon shouted, quickly moving to grab Zeena and Zazz with the ice hands she had before they could be struck by the bananas.

"Hey! What the?!" Zeena exclaimed before looking at the situation more closely. "Alright! Now this is-"

"Incoming!" Zazz shouted as the bananas soon turned around _completely_ and began flying in the direction of the watermelon!

"You've gotta be kidding me, boomerang bananas?!" The falcon shouted as she began to pummel ahead of her with her ice fists, destroying the curved yellow projectiles before they could strike the quartet.

"Hm, impressive, but I have one more trick up my sleeve!" Fake Zik grinned, pulling out a… Rather large cherry bunch. The two cherries were paired together, almost twice as large as Zik himself, and when he threw them…

…They began to ignite soon after.

"Oh great, we've got a cherry bomb!" The falcon shouted. She couldn't pummel them away since that may explode them prematurely. For that same reason, she couldn't deflect them either.

"Uhh… Guys..?" Zomom asked. "We're close to the place holding Master Zik!"

"Yeah, but we have more important things to worry about, like the _old man trying to blow us up!_ " Zazz exclaimed.

Thinking quickly, the falcon realized she had no choice. She stopped freezing the ground before the cherry bombs got too near, and disengaged her ice hands in favor of the ice armor.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Zeena shouted at the falcon. "You need to protect us to-"

Before she could finish, Zomom reached the end of the icy path and tripped over, doing a complete front-flip. The cherry bombs exploded _violently_ soon after, striking Zomom's stomach and sending the Zetis and the falcon _rocketing_ toward Zik's chamber, faster than Fake Zik could really keep up.

The group was screaming before reaching the room, when all of them collapsed upon the ground, the falcon sliding across before bumping into the crystal containing Zik.

"Greetings." Master Zik spoke to the group. "I had a feeling you were not far-"

"Not now, old man!" The falcon shouted before _bolting_ for the entrance, freezing it shut with a thick layer of ice. This caused the giant watermelon to burst, cracking the ice somewhat, although not enough to break the wall.

"Nice going there, guys!" Zeena congratulated everyone. "Even you, uhh… Lady?"

"Call me Kori Kaze." The falcon spoke curtly in response. "No other name is necessary."

"Hm. You hide behind a mask, young one." Master Zik spoke. "Eventually, you will have to come out of it."

"…What fucking mask?" Kori asked the small Zeti. "All I know is, we have to bust you out, and we have to-"

Kori's words were interrupted by a blast occurring just outside, shattering the ice wall. The Zetis came face-to-face with a _very_ pissed Fake Zik, staring them down.

"Oh, I am going to _enjoy_ tearing you apart, _especially_ the bird before me!" Fake Zik spoke menacingly, getting atop his staff. "Soon, you will-"

His speech was interrupted by an Ice Fist slamming into him, knocking him off of his cane. The aged Zeti let off a weak grunt as he slid across the floor, bumping against a large computer. Kori crouched in front of him, leering at Fake Zik.

"You know, if you really wanted to kill us, you would've already done so instead of making a whole speech about it." Kori spoke to Fake Zik, almost taunting him, in a way.

"But… But that's not how it works…" Fake Zik gasped. "You… You were supposed to let me finish and refute with your own speech…"

"That only works in shitty tv shows, old man." Kori spoke, kicking him. "And besides, I think _this_ works _so much better!_ "

Kori would continue to kick Fake Zik as Zeena began to work on freeing Master Zik from the crystal, typing in several passwords before finally causing the crystal to disintegrate completely, freeing him.

"It is wonderful to see you again, Zeena." Master Zik smiled. "How has the Resistance treated you thus far?"

"They've been good, Master." Zeena smiled, hugging him. "I'm just glad to see you're okay…"

"Hey, birdie!" Zazz shouted, striding towards Kori. "Mind if I join in on the fun?!"

"Sure, go right ahead!" Kori responded. Soon, the white falcon and pink Zeti were kicking the copy of Zik to a bloody pulp as Zeena and Zomom rested, watching the spectacle unfold before them…

* * *

"No, no no no NO!" Doctor Eggman screamed, slamming a central console with a live camera feed of Zik's Chamber before him. "How could they have beaten him so easily?! I thought that those Zetis would've been _destroyed_ by now!"

" **Doctor, it's the avian with them.** " Infinite informed Eggman, gesturing at Kori, still kicking Fake Zik with Zazz. " **She had turned the tide in their favor…** "

"Oh, what's this now about some stupid bird?" Doctor Eggman spoke, dismissing Kori entirely. "Besides, she's just another pesky Resistance member, it isn't like she's much different from all the others, is she?!"

" **She is different.** " Infinite responded. " **Because she is _not_ a Resistance member.**"

"…Huh? What are you talking about?" Doctor Eggman asked. "Are you trying to say you knew _all about her_ and did nothing?!"

" **Yes. Because in all but a _select few_ of the possibilities I saw for our Empire, she had done absolutely _nothing._** " Infinite answered. " **She wasn't as much of a threat to us as the mechanical bear was.** "

"Speaking of, did you manage to _kill him_ by any chance?" Eggman asked Infinite. "Because the _last thing_ I need is yet another mechanic trying to outdo me!"

" **…That much is uncertain.** " Infinite responded. " **He and his feline companion may be surviving, but only barely. They pose no threat to us as of now.** "

"Alright, then what about _this one,_ huh?" Eggman spat, pointing at Kori, who had just gotten done kicking Fake Zik into a pile of Phantom Ruby energy, returning a high-five to Zazz, who was visibly excited about kicking him to mush.

" **Oh… I shall have my methods of dealing with this… _Emotionally vulnerable one..._** " Infinite spoke, a slight grin escaping him beneath his mask.

* * *

 **And so, the Deadly Three reunite with Master Zik, and in the process, meet a new ally in Kori Kaze! But the adventure isn't over yet, as the group now heads for Relic Maze to rescue Zor in Chapter 26: "Temple of Gloom"!**


End file.
